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Chap. Copyright No..__.,____. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA 



Ask thou the citizens of pathless woods; 
What cut the air with wings ? " 

— Sandys. 



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I. Bob White. 



THE 
GALLINACEOUS 



GAME BIRDS 



NORTH AMERICA 

INCLUDING THE PARTRIDGES, GROUSE, PTARMIGAN, 
AND WILD TURKEYS ; WITH ACCOUNTS OF THEIR DIS- 
PERSION, HABITS, NESTING, ETC., AND FULL DESCRIP- 
TIONS OF THE PLUMAGE OF BOTH ADULT AND YOUNG, TO- 
GETHER WITH THEIR POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES 

A booh written both for those who love to seek these birds afield with 

dog and gun, as well as those who may only desire to learn the 

ways of such attractive creatures in their haunts 



/BY 

DANIEL GIRAUD ELLIOT, F. R. S. E., etc. 

Ex-President of the American Ornithologists' Union 
Author of the "New and Heretofore Unfigured Birds of North America" 
of the "North America7t Shore Birds" of the Illustrated Mono- 
graphs of the Ant Thrushes, Grouse Pheasants, 
Birds of Paradise, Hornbills, Cats, etc. 



WITH FORTY -SIX PLATES 



LONDON 

SUCKLING & CO. 

1897 



rv^b 



-?& 



1235 



Copyright, 1897, 

BY 
FRANCIS P. HARPER. 




PRINTED IN AMERICA 



PREFACE. 

No group of animals is more important to man than 
the one comprising the gallinaceous birds — the source 
from which has been derived the countless varieties of 
domesticated fowl distributed throughout the world. 

As articles of food they are of inestimable value, and 
the birds enter largely into the various accounts of trade. 
But beside the commercial aspect, which is important 
enough, the species present other attractions that appeal 
most strongly to those for whom this book was espe- 
cially written, the sportsmen — viz., the pleasure they 
yield in the chase, and the incentive they provide for 
action and effort, when, in the leafy aisles of the whisper- 
ing- forests, or in the thickets, and along the banks of the 
leaping stream, or on the open sky-encircled prairie, 
man in his quest for these game-like creatures, aided by 
his faithful dog, finds renewed health and strength to 
wrestle with the toils and troubles of his daily life. For 
accomplishing this result alone, even if in all their life 
and death they yielded no other, these birds were not 
created in vain. 

The favorable reception given to my book on the 
" Shore Birds " has encouraged me to write the life his- 
tories (as my opportunities have enabled me to become 
familiar with them) of possibly the most attractive feath- 
ered creatures, certainly so from the sportsman's point of 
view, which our country possesses. The water fowl to 
some may appear more desirable, a few are really game, 
and I would be the last to speak or write disparagingly 



VI PREFACE. 

of them; but the environment of the Ducks and Geese 
suffers in comparison with that of gallinaceous birds, 
and the beautiful pictures of high-bred dogs, seeking and 
pointing game, are lacking in the pursuit of the web- 
footed quarry. 

The construction of the present volume is precisely 
similar to that of the " Shore Birds," and first is given 
the common name of each bird, or, if there are more than 
one, that most generally employed. Then follows an 
account of the habits and economy of the species, and 
a short life history; after which comes the Latin name 
succeeded by the geographical distribution, and a de- 
scription of both sexes when necessary, and of the young 
whenever possible. 

In the Appendix will be found the Keys to the Families, 
Subfamilies, Genera, and Species, arranged in the same 
simple manner as those published in the " Shore Birds," 
and which will enable anyone with a little patience to 
ascertain to what species an unfamiliar example may 
belong. Excepting perhaps the Ptarmigan, the various 
species of gallinaceous birds are more easily recognized 
from each other, in illustrations printed only in black and 
white, than are those, of the " Shore Birds," and the 
various Keys will be found perhaps less necessary, and 
only really required in the cases of the group above men- 
tioned, or in closely allied species of Prairie Grouse. 

The author's experience among the game birds has 
been very extensive, gained from a familiar acquaintance 
with them in their haunts extending over many years. 
With a few exceptions, he has observed all the species 
contained in this book in the various localities they fre- 
quent throughout North America, and in the proper 
season representatives of most of them have fallen to his 
gun. Unlike the majority of the " Shore Birds," omit- 



PREFACE. Vll 

ting a few species and those mainly among the Ptarmi- 
gan, Partridges and Grouse breed within the limits of the 
United States, and their habits in the nesting season can 
be observed by anyone who may be sufficiently inter- 
ested to visit those parts of our country in which the 
birds are to be found. 

Their nests are similar in construction, but the eggs 
vary greatly in coloration, and some, like those of the 
Ptarmigan, are strongly characteristic and unmistak- 
able in their markings. The eggs of the Partridges are 
usually of one color and unspotted, those of the Grouse 
and Turkeys more or less covered with spots, which 
differ in hue from the ground color. 

Having provided in the work on " Shore Birds " a 
map which gave the position and name of all the differ- 
ent portions of a bird's plumage, it does not seem neces- 
sary to issue another for the birds contained in this, a 
companion volume, for the arrangement of the plumage 
in all birds is the same, although the shape of the 
feathers may be very different, and the terms by which 
these are known do not vary. 

The plates which adorn the volume are the production 
of the clever pencil of Mr. Edwin Sheppard, who illus- 
trated the " Shore Birds," and like those drawings, these, 
executed with equal fidelity, will be of the utmost assist- 
ance in helping those unfamiliar with the species to 
recognize their specimens without difficulty. 

The Latin names employed, except when reasons are 
given in the articles or in the Appendix for changing 
them, are those of the last edition of the Check List 
issued by the American Ornithologists' Union. 

The author sincerely trusts that this book will prove to 
be of value to all sportsmen, and help bring to their mem- 
ories halcyon days amid the game birds in tangled brake 



Vlll PREFACE. 

or open prairie, and that the student, desirous of learning 
the ways of life and variations in dress of one of the most 
gallant and attractive groups of birds living to-day, may 
find some profit and instruction in a perusal of its pages. 
My thanks are due to my friends Professor Allen and 
Mr. Chapman of the New York Museum of Natural 
History, to Mr. R. Ridgway of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, and to Mr. Whitmer Stone of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, for the loan of speci- 
mens of the various species from which the illustrations 
in this volume have been made. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Preface, . . v 

List of Illustrations, xi 

Introduction, . . xiii 

Bob White, . 19 

The Florida Bob White, 32 

Texan Bob White, 35 

Masked Bob White, . 38 

Mountain Partridge, 41 

Plumed Partridge, 44 

San Pedro Partridge, 47 

Scaled Partridge, 49 

Chestnut-Bellied Scaled Partridge, .... 53 

California Partridge, 55 

Valley Partridge, 58 

Gambel's Partridge, 62 

Massena Partridge, 69 

Ruffed Grouse, 74 

Oregon, or Sabine's Grouse, 81 

Canadian Ruffed Grouse, 84 

Gray Ruffed Grouse, 88 

Dusky Grouse, 90 

Sooty Grouse, 94 

Richardson's Grouse, 98 

Canada Grouse, 100 

Franklin's Grouse, 106 

Prairie Hen, no 

ix 



X CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Heath Hen, 117 

Lesser Prairie Hen, . . . . . . . . 120 

Attwater's Prairie Hen, . . . . \ . . .122 

Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 123 

Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 126 

Prairie Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 129 

Sage Grouse, 136 

Willow Ptarmigan, 142 

Allen's Ptarmigan, . . 149 

Rock Ptarmigan, 151 

Reinhardt's Ptarmigan, 154 

Welch's Ptarmigan, . . . . • . . 157 

Nelson's Ptarmigan, ; . .159 

Turner's Ptarmigan, . • . . . . . 161 

Townsend's Ptarmigan, 163 

Evermann's Ptarmigan, 165 

White-Tailed Ptarmigan, 167 

Wild Turkey, 172 

Florida Wild Tu.rkey, 177 

Elliot's Rio Grande Turkey, 180 

Mexican Turkey, 182 

Appendix, . . 189 

Index, ........... 213 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



i. Bob White, . Frontispiece \ 

2. Florida Bob White, .... Opposite page 32 

3. Texan Bob White, . . . . " "35 

4. Masked Bob White, ... . " "38 

5. Mountain Partridge, . . . " "41 

6. Plumed Partridge, * . . . . " " 44 - y 

7. San Pedro Partridge, . : . " "47, 

8. Scaled Partridge, . . . . " "49 

9. Chestnut-Bellied Scaled Partridge, " " 53 - 

10. California Partridge, . . . . " "55 

11. Valley Partridge, ...... " "58 

12. Gambel's Partridge, . . . . " 62 ' 

13. Massena Partridge, .... " "69 

14. Ruffed Grouse, . . . . . " "74 

15. Oregon, or Sabine's Ruffed Grouse, " " -81 

16. Canadian Ruffed Grouse, . . . " "84 

17. Gray Ruffed Grouse, . . . " "88 

18. Dusky Grouse, . . . . . " "90 

19. Sooty Grouse, ... . . " "94 

20. Richardson's Grouse, . . . . " "98 

21. Canada Grouse, . . . . " ' " 100 

22. Franklin's Grouse, . . . . " " 106 

23. Prairie Hen, " " 110 

24. Heath Hen, " " 117 

25. Lesser Prairie Hen, ... " " 120 , 

26. Attwater's Prairie Hen, . . . " " 122 j 



Xll 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



27. Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 

28. Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 

29. Prairie Sharp-Tailed Grouse, 

30. Sage Grouse, 

31. Willow Ptarmigan, . 

32. Willow Ptarmigan in Winter, 

33. Rock Ptarmigan, . 

34. Rock Ptarmigan in Winter, 

35. Reinhardt's Ptarmigan, 

36. Welch's Ptarmigan, .... 

37. Nelson's Ptarmigan, . 

38. Turner's Ptarmigan, 

39. Townsend's Ptarmigan, 

40. Evermann's Ptarmigan, 

41. White-Tailed Ptarmigan, 

42. White-Tailed Ptarmigan in Winter, 

43. Wild Turkey, .-.-... 

44. Florida Wild Turkey, 

45. Elliot's Rio Grande Turkey, 

46. Mexican Turkey, .... 
Color Chart at End of the Volume. 



Opposite page 123 
126 



129 
136 % 
142 J 
146 
151 
152 ■* 

154 I 

157 

159 

161 

163 

165 

167 

170 

172 

177 
180 
182 



INTRODUCTION. 

A "pHE great division of the Class Aves called Galling, 
sometimes designated Rasores (Latin rasor, a 
scraper), from the habit possessed by its members 
of scratching the ground in search of food, is 
composed of two suborders and four families. Of 
the latter we have to do at the present time with 
only two — Tetraonid^e and Phasianid^e, contain- 
ing those species which have foivl-fect, in contradistinc- 
tion to the other two families — Megapodid^e and 
Cracid^e, which have feet like a pigeon. 

These four families comprise between three and four 
hundred species, distributed throughout the world, and 
are of the very highest importance in their relation to 
man, affording food to multitudes of people, and the 
members of the Phasianid^e are the sources of all the 
domesticated poultry found in the world to-day. 

In form the birds are usually heavy in body with 
rather stout legs and feet, small heads and curved bills, 
with the nostrils placed in a membrane covered by a 
scale, and the wings are short and rounded. In some 
subfamilies the males, and occasionally the females, 
have the legs armed with spurs, and certain species have 
several spurs at a time upon each leg. The sternum, or 
breastbone, has a double bifurcation on each side, the 
fissures wide and deep, and provides but little space for 
the attachment of the great pectoral muscles, which how- 
ever are well developed, and give the plump appearance 
to the breast so characteristic of these birds. The tail is 
of various shapes, and in the Phasianim: is sometimes 



XIV IN TROD UCTION. 

lengthened enormously, and occasionally the feathers are 
highly decorated by various markings or brilliant color- 
ation. The flight is labored but rapid, and occasionally 
protracted. 

In their anatomy these birds have various peculiarities. 
The esophagus is dilated, forming the crop which re- 
ceives and moistens the food; while the gizzard, which 
is present in all save the Sage Cock, is very strong, with 
a thick, hard, interior wall. To assist this organ in grind- 
ing the food the birds are in the habit of swallowing 
small stones and other hard objects. The cceca are 
highly developed. 

The species of this order are accustomed to lay numer- 
ous eggs, to go in coveys of considerable numbers, com- 
posed at times of one or more families, and the young, 
which are at first covered with down, are able to run and 
feed as soon as hatched. The family Tetraonid^:, which 
comprises the great majority of gallinaceous birds inhab- 
iting North America, contains those known as Quails, 
Partridges, and Grouse, and is represented in every por- 
tion of the world. The members differ greatly from 
each other in many particulars, and form three rather 
natural groups or subfamilies, one of which, the Per- 
dicinae, or Old World Quails and Partridges, are not 
found upon the Western Hemisphere. American Par- 
tridges have certain peculiarities, more particularly 
described in the Appendix, which place them apart and 
distinguish them from their relatives across the sea, 
while certain species of Grouse have so wide a dis- 
tribution, retaining at the same time their specific 
characters, that they are found in high latitudes through- 
out the world. This can be said of but very few 
species of birds known to ornithologists at the present 
day. 



IN TROD UCTION. XV 

The three subfamilies — Perdicin^e, Odontopho- 
riinle, and Tetraonin^e — comprising the family Te- 
traonid^e, are known in ornithological language as the 
Alectoropodous (Greek aXeKTwp, alector, a cock + novo-, 
pous, a foot) Gallinas, or, to translate it freely, fowl- 
footed gallinaceous birds, characterized by having the 
hind toe raised above the plane of the front toes and clear 
of the ground; differing in this respect from the other 
section of the order, the pigeon-footed gallinaceous birds, 
or Peristeropodous (Greek Trcpiarepd, peristera, a pigeon, 
-f- ttouVj pous, a foot) Gallinae, which have the four toes 
resting on the ground, all on an equal plane. The 
Grouse are distinguished from all members of the order 
by having the tarsus, or shank, covered with feathers 
more or less completely, sometimes even the toes are 
hidden, resembling in this respect certain rapacious 
birds, such as Owls and a few species of Hawks and 
Eagles. As they are mostly inhabitants of countries 
where the winters are usually long and severe, this pro- 
vision of nature affords additional and especial protec- 
tion against the cold, and guards those parts that are 
particularly exposed from the danger of becoming frozen 
and probably lost or rendered useless. 

The members of the subfamily Tetraonin^e have 
many characters that distingush them from other birds, 
not the least of which is the gracefully shaped and thor- 
oughly game-like head, high in the rear, or occipital 
region, with a broad and ample brain case, sloping gradu- 
ally forward and contracting toward the junction with the 
''curved and usually powerful bill. The brain is large for 
the size of the birds, and it bestows upon them unusual 
intelligence, as shown in their cunning, ability to adapt 
themselves to their surroundings, and fertility of re- 
sources in avoiding danger. A Quail, Grouse, or Tur- 



xvi IN TROD UC TION. 

key is far from being a stupid bird, and even man, with 
his wisdom and variety of methods, has often need of 
all his wits to circumvent these wide-awake feathered 
creatures. 

Gallinaceous birds are terrestrial, but none of them 
will hesitate to fly into a tree and walk or roost on the 
branches, and they frequently seek the cover of the foliage 
when pursued, for protection and concealment. They 
are apparently perfectly at home upon a branch, fence, 
or similar support, their rather long toes grasping 
firmly the perch on which they have taken their 
position. 

Grouse and Turkeys are generally polygamous, but 
the Odontophorinae, or Partridges, are monogamous. 
The females of those addicted to the former practice are 
usually in the habit of concealing their nests not only 
from their natural enemies, but also from the males, 
some of which would destroy both eggs and young if 
they found the opportunity. In the other class the male 
is assiduous in his attentions to his mate when engaged 
in the duties of incubation, not infrequently relieving her 
by covering the eggs himself, and always shares in car- 
ing for and feeding the young. It is a rather singular 
fact that in most polygamous species the plumage of the 
sexes is very dissimilar, while there is usually but little 
difference observable between those that are monoga- 
mous. As a rule the birds contained in this volume moult 
once a year in the spring before the commencement of the 
breeding season, but the Ptarmigan are an exception, 
and are in a continuous state of moult at all seasons, 
except, possibly, for a very brief period after they have 
assumed the breeding dress, and again in winter when 
robed in white. All Ptarmigan turn white in winter, 
excepting the Scotch Grouse, so called, which, possibly 



INTRODUCTION. XV11 

from the effects peculiar to its insular habitat, retains 
a plumage of the same colors throughout the year. This 
provision of nature for the other species, may be 
to give an additional security to the birds when the 
whole country of their northern homes is covered by 
snow, and so assimilate them to the surrounding white- 
ness, that their presence can only be perceived with 
great difficulty or by merest chance. 

Many Grouse possess a peculiar structure, rarely found 
in any other species, in the air sac on the side of the 
neck which is capable of being inflated, and then resem- 
bles somewhat an orange attached to the neck. By ex- 
hausting the air, which can be accomplished at the will 
of the bird, a booming sound is produced that may be 
heard at a great distance. This performance usually 
takes place at the breeding season, and is one of the 
male's allurements to secure the attention and probable 
fleeting attachment of the females. At all other seasons 
this sac shrivels up and is mostly concealed under the 
feathers. 

One species of another group — Shore Birds — possesses 
a similar sac, but differently disposed and of great extent, 
which is also exhibited to advantage during the breed- 
ing season. This is the Pectoral Sandpiper, a descrip- 
tion of whose performance on the tundras of the far 
north I have given in my work on the Limicolos. 

North America has been most favored among the 
countries of the earth in the great variety and number 
of her gallinaceous birds, many of the species being 
equal to any found in other lands and some surpassing 
all others known, in size, magnificent appearance, and in 
their value, commercially and otherwise, to the human 
race. They are a precious heritage, to be guarded care- 
fully and used judiciously if we are wise and far-seeing, 



XV111 INTRODUCTION. 

bestowing benefits on ourselves and on succeeding gen- 
erations, or to be recklessly squandered like the fortune 
of the spendthrift, leaving to posterity not even a 
memory, but simply a tradition of the noblest race of 
feathered creatures Nature ever produced. Which shall 
it be? 



GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



BOB WHITE. 

\A/IDELY distributed throughout the Eastern por- 
tions of the United States, from southern Ontario 
on the north to Florida on the south, this most attractive 
little bird, called in the Northern and Middle States Quail, 
and in the South Partridge, is the best known and most 
eagerly sought of all our game birds by the lovers of dog 
and gun who rejoice in the sports of woods and fields. 
It is a sociable species, frequents cultivated lands, resorts 
to the vicinity of the farmer's dwelling and barns, and 
follows the onward march of the pioneer as he penetrates 
the wilderness to conquer the rough places of the land, 
and produce smiling sunlit fields where once the darken- 
ing forests stood. In Vermont, New Hampshire, and 
northern New York it is rare, and occasionally occurs 
in Maine, but throughout the Eastern States, except 
Florida, and west of the Mississippi in the States of 
Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, eastern Texas, 
northern New Mexico, and the Indian Territory it is 
more or less abundant; and is steadily advancing west- 
ward in the track of the new settlements and cultivated 
land. 

It has been introduced into South Dakota, pos- 
sibly from Florida, as the birds I have seen from that 
far Western State resemble very closely those from the 
southern peninsula, and in 1871 some were turned loose in 



2o GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

the Great Salt Lake Valley, Utah, and are now common 
in various portions of that State. In 1875 a few were liber- 
ated at Boise City, Idaho, and not many years after the 
birds were numerous along the Boise River and west of 
the Snake River. It has also been introduced into Colo- 
rado, California, quite abundant about Gilroy, Oregon, 
in several of the islands in Puget Sound, and wherever 
the climate is suitable and food abundant. This species 
will flourish and increase in numbers in most climates, 
soon adapting itself to its surroundings. As a rule, 
Bob White is a resident and passes his life in or near 
the places in which he was hatched, but in the more 
northern portions of his habitat, even as far south as 
Virginia, there appears to be a partial migration north 
and south in the spring and autumn, and when shoot- 
ing I have often met with coveys that seemed to be 
traveling, though of course it is difficult to prove the 
fact. But it is certain that within a district where every 
covey which inhabits it is known and the place it usually 
frequents well ascertained, occasionally in the autumn 
other bevies will appear upon the same ground, appar- 
ently on the tramp, and which make no stay. 

This bird never goes in packs or large flocks, like the 
plumed quails of New Mexico, Arizona, or California, 
but individuals of each covey, presumably one family, 
remain together, and even after they have been decimated 
by the sportsman or by furred and feathered enemies, 
the survivors rarely join another bevy, but keep by 
themselves until the recurring spring. The mating 
season commences according to the latitude of the birds' 
habitat, from March to May, and nidification from April 
to June. As spring begins to temper the keen blasts of 
winter, and the rays of the returning sun, coming from 
the southern limit of its journey below the Equator, cause 



BOB WHITE. 21 

the buds to swell upon the trees, and Nature commences 
to rouse herself from her winter's sleep, the clear, sharp 
call of the male bird is heard, as perched upon some 
fence rail or other elevated place in the field, he utters 
the well-known sounds " Bob White, ah! Bob White," 
expressing the latent passion of love that begins to 
awaken in his brave little heart. The united family that 
happily has kept together throughout the trying winter 
has become separated, and every male member is occu- 
pied with the important duty of seeking a mate. Each 
little feathered breast is swelling with the fires of love, 
and with proud carriage and eyes flashing with the desire 
that permeates his whole body, the cock endeavors to 
secure the attention of the object of his choice, to win 
her admiration, to attract her by his proud bearing, to 
cause her to listen to his sweet, earnest tones, and to 
reciprocate the love he offers so ardently. Ah, but she 
is coy, the little buff-throated hen! only looks at her 
lover from beneath the shelter of some bush, and makes 
no reply to his ringing love song, that is uttered with in- 
creasing power and passion. He leaves his coign of 
vantage and runs toward her, puffs up his feathers for 
an instant, and then leaps upon some low stump and 
pours out the clear " Bob White," like a challenge to all 
the world to come and dispute his love. Again he draws 
near, but she shyly moves away, looking back at him 
meanwhile, as if half inviting him to follow. No persua- 
sion is needed for such an ardent knight, and he is by her 
side, telling his love in sweet, low tones that cause her 
to listen with less reserve to her gallant cavalier, who 
ever presses nearer, and bows before her, until capti- 
vated by his handsome presence and melodious voice, 
and with an answering love springing up in her own 
breast at length she yields a timorous consent. 



22 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

The nest, placed upon the ground, is not much of 
a structure, merely a cavity hollowed out in the soil 
under a bush or fence, in pastures, or in the cotton rows 
in Southern States ; in fact, in any spot where the locality 
affords the required concealment and privacy. It is well 
hidden and lined with grasses or stubble and sometimes 
arched over at the top with an aperture at the side, or 
again, entirely open. The eggs, which are a brilliant 
white, sharply pointed at one end, vary in number from 
twelve to twenty, and sometimes as many as thirty-two 
have been found, but, in such a case, more than one hen 
must have laid in the nest, or it may be that, when only 
one brood is raised in a season, the usual number may 
be considerably exceeded. The eggs are packed in 
closely with the pointed ends downward, and so skillfully 
are they arranged that once removed it is practically 
impossible to put them back again. In about twenty- 
four days the young appear, incubation having been per- 
formed by both sexes, chiefly, however, by the female, 
as is natural, and the comical little downy balls, which the 
chicks resemble, run about as soon as they escape from 
the egg. It is not often that the female is seen while 
incubation is progressing, but the male is frequently 
heard as from some stump or fence in the vicinity he 
whistles his clear " Bob White." In New England this 
call is interpreted as " more wet " or " no more wet," 
according to the views of the wiseheads as to the proba- 
ble future condition of the weather. 

The young are faithfully cared for by both parents, and 
scatter immediately at the note of alarm sounded by the 
old birds, hiding themselves in the grass or under leaves, 
while the parents, by the usual artifice of lameness or 
inability to fly, draw the intruder away from the place, 
to return again when all danger has passed. The note 



BOB WHITE. 23 

by which the young are called together is very low and 
soft, a kind of twitter. Should the nest be disturbed 
before the young are hatched, or if the eggs are handled, 
it is usually deserted by the birds. The chicks are able to 
fly a little almost as soon as they emerge from the egg, 
and (except in the northern part of the birds' dispersion) 
when they are a few weeks old the male assumes the en- 
tire charge of his little family, and the female begins to lay 
again her second complement of eggs, which, as a rule, 
does not average as large a number as the first. In the 
north one brood is generally all that is raised. The 
chicks are fed by the parents on insects, but, like all 
young gallinaceous birds, they are constantly in motion 
and pick at everything, trying this and that small object 
with great and ceaseless industry, and they soon begin 
to swallow seeds, grains of different sorts, and berries. 
As they grow older they become habituated to the usual 
food of the adults, which consists of grain of all kinds, 
especially buckwheat, of which this bird is particularly 
fond, wild pease, and the seeds of various plants, with 
berries, when there are any. Quail will also eat grapes, 
small acorns, and beech-nuts. The parents lead their 
brood to the stubbles and pick up the grain that had 
been dropped during the harvest of the previous sum- 
mer, and return at night to the thickets for conceal- 
ment and protection. They usually visit the fields in the 
early morning and again in the afternoon, but late in 
the year, if the weather is cold, they frequently pass the 
entire day in the open, huddled together after feeding, 
basking in the comfortable warmth of the sun's rays. 

The young attain their full growth in the autumn, the 
period varying according as the spring has been favora- 
ble or not for incubation, as sometimes the winter 
lingers so late as to prevent the nesting season from 



24 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

beginning as early as usual; but from September in the 
South to November in the North the broods have become 
indistinguishable from their parents. Of course there 
are exceptions to this, and the first brood may have 
been hatched late, or the second brood delayed for some 
cause. I have met young birds unable to fly any dis- 
tance and covered with pin-feathers as late as the last 
of November and beginning of December. Quail are 
affectionate birds, and each little family keeps always 
together, no member ever leaving the main body unless 
under compulsion, and then is very restless and unhappy 
until it has regained its companions. 

When flushed the birds rise in a bunch, with a resound- 
ing whir of the rapidly moving wings, very disturbing 
to the young sportsman, and fly usually together in 
a straight line, and alight all at once not far from each 
other, when they lie close and motionless, permitting 
the sportsman to flush them singly. If disturbed more 
than once they then become widely scattered, occasionally 
alighting in trees, and seek the deepest thickets and most 
impenetrable places they can find. After they have 
remained unmolested for some considerable time they 
begin to move, and some little brown clump or tuft will 
stir and disclose a bird, its bright black eye glancing 
in every direction, the little creature all alert to every 
sound and motion. It gathers confidence in the stillness 
of its retreat, and gently utters a low Quoi-i-hee and 
listens. No response is heard, and again the same call 
is uttered, perhaps a little louder, and this time a similar 
faint cry comes in reply. Our little friend takes a few 
steps in the direction of the sound and calls again, and 
now from various parts of the field and thicket comes 
the cry Quoi-i-hee, quoi-i-hee, until, guided by their 
voices, the little band is again united, and their plaintive 



BOB WHITE. 25 

notes are heard no more, as they wander away to safer 
feeding grounds or place of concealment and repose. 

Where the birds are much hunted they become " edu- 
cated," and whenever flushed fly at once to the densest 
thicket in the vicinity, impenetrable perhaps to both man 
and dog, and are safe. With such coveys one shot, as 
they rise before the dog, is all that can be expected. 
They exhibit their cunning in various ways. Some 
bevies, if feeding well out in the field, will begin to run 
toward cover as soon as a man or dog climbs over the 
fence, and frequently reach a place of safety before the 
dog has caught the scent and apprised his owner of 
their presence. Or, they will feed near to the fence, 
rarely going far from it, and slip into cover at the first 
alarm. Little can be done with Quail so well " edu- 
cated " as these. 

There is no member of the gallinaceous birds more 
" game " than the brave little " Bob White," and 
none affords more diversion to the sportsman. The 
autumn morning breaks clear and still, and the air is 
crisp with the frosty breath of advancing winter as the 
sportsman, accompanied by his well-trained dogs, starts 
out for a battle with the Quail, to be waged with skill 
and cunning on both sides, but with unequal results, 
for against the pleasures of the chase, an ardent love of 
which is inherent in man, we must place wounds and 
death for the gallant birds. The dogs know as well as 
their master what is to be the business of the day, and 
as they express their delight with many a gambol and 
queer contortion, are observant of every field, and fre- 
quently toss up their heads and sniff the pure air as 
though the well-known scent of wandering birds was 
borne to their quivering nostrils. Soon the desired 
place is reached and, with a wave of the hand, the dogs 



26 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

are bidden to go forward. With a bound the fence is 
cleared and, regularly as the working of some faultless 
machine, the noble animals beat the fields on a gallop, 
with heads carried high and nostrils open, crossing each 
other's tracks at regular intervals. Suddenly one checks 
himself and swings around halfway, and his pace is re- 
duced to a walk, and with careful steps and head carried 
on a line with his body he draws slowly forward, uncer- 
tain as yet where the birds, whose strong scent has dis- 
covered to him their presence, are located. Carefully 
the dog moves on, and his tail, which had been beat- 
ing his sides with rapid strokes, is straightened and 
becomes rigid. His companion, who had overrun the 
scent, not being so near, sees the careful movement, and, 
knowing the cause, turns, and with equal care follows 
the direction of his mate. The first dog has now reached 
the vicinity of the bevy, and what a picture he presents 
to his master's gaze! With crouching body and tail 
rigid, one foreleg half raised and the paw turned back- 
ward, eyes set in a stony gaze, a frowning brow, and jaws 
half open, with the saliva dropping from his tongue as the 
hot scent wells up into his sensitive nostrils, he seems as if 
carved in stone, while behind him, afraid to move another 
step, in a similar attitude, stands motionless his mate. 
The sportsman moves forward and speaks in low tones 
words of encouragement to his four-footed friends, but 
the dogs stir not, and soon their master is close to the 
leader, when from beneath his very nose, with a whir 
like muffled drums, hurtling and jostling each other in 
their headstrong flight, rises the bevy of full-grown birds. 
At the sound of wings the dogs drop to the ground with 
their heads on the outstretched paws, and the reports 
of the gun ring out, stopping short some swift-flying 
birds that fall inert and lifeless to the earth, while the 









BOB WHITE. 27 

unwounded ones seek the nearest places of safety. Fresh 
cartridges inserted, at the snap of the barrels returning 
to their place the dogs spring up, and, taking the dead 
birds carefully in their mouths, bring them and place 
them in the hands of their master. What lover of 
the sports of the field but has witnessed some such 
scene as I have so vainly tried to describe — a scene 
stamped upon the memory to be recalled again and again 
in the days when failing strength and numbered years 
have necessitated that the old gun, the treasured com- 
panion of many a happy day, be laid aside forever, and 
the sports of the field be enjoyed only in the recollections 
of the past! 

In many localities where Quail were formerly abun- 
dant they have become very scarce or quite extinct. 
Various causes have brought about this undesirable state 
of things, among which are the depredations committed 
by their natural enemies of the air and forest ; but man is 
the chief culprit, and by shooting the birds in and out of 
season, murdering the half-grown young hardly able to 
fly before him, and by catching whole bevies in snares and 
traps of all descriptions, he has been most successful in 
exterminating the race from many a favorable locality. 
Fortunately, by introducing into such a barren spot birds 
from other places where they are still abundant, the evil 
may be remedied, for Quail soon accustom themselves 
to new surroundings and multiply rapidly; but as the 
population increases in the land, districts from which 
new stock can be drawn will become fewer in num- 
ber, and those places, where Bob White through man's 
rapacity and foolishness has been exterminated, will 
remain tenantless of the bravest game bird in the 
land. 

As an article of food the Quail is a very delicate and 



28 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

palatable morsel, but late in the winter the flesh is apt 
to be dry and rather tasteless; while those birds which 
are kept from year to year in enormous cold-storage 
houses, and thousands of them are, have about as much 
flavor as a chip of dried wood. It is a pity that those 
cemeteries, at least for wild game, could not be broken 
up and done away with. 

Quail are in the habit of roosting in or near the same 
spot so long as they remain in any one locality, and such 
places can frequently be determined by the droppings 
on the ground. When settling for the night they 
arrange themselves in a circle, each bird close to his 
fellow, and with all the tails inward. This method is 
advantageous for the warmth derived from the close 
contact of so many little bodies, and also if alarmed or 
attacked ' during the night by any foe, each bird can 
spring directly forward and take wing unimpeded by any 
of his fellows. Of course the bevy becomes greatly scat- 
tered, as each one goes away in a different direction. 
In such a case they remain quiet until the day begins 
to break, and then the Quoi-i-hee will be heard re- 
sounding from every side, as the birds gradually draw 
together into a once more united family. Quail are able 
to stand cold very well, provided food is abundant, but 
when this is scarce and the winter severe, they suffer 
greatly, and many a covey is frozen to death. 

When the snow begins to fall they huddle close 
together, and are frequently entirely covered with a white 
mantle. If no crust is formed they easily break through, 
but should they remain in their warm quarters until 
the sun has partly melted the snow and it becomes frozen 
again, they are unable to escape from their prison and 
perish miserably. Many a covey has been found in such 
a situation after the snow has melted in the spring, the 



BOB WHITE. 29 

birds huddled closely together in the position in which 
the impenetrable drift had imprisoned them. 

This species is credited by some with the power of 
voluntarily withholding the natural scent of the body 
on alighting, after having been flushed. Certainly in- 
stances are numerous, when the best dogs have been 
brought to a place where the birds were seen to settle, 
and although the ground was thoroughly covered in 
every direction, nothing was found. And yet after a little 
while, if that same ground was beaten over, the dogs 
would come to a point at every few moments and the 
birds would flush, usually singly. Again it is not 
unusual that when a bevy is followed immediately, when 
the ground on which they settled was favorable, the birds 
have been flushed without difficulty. If the scent was 
voluntarily withheld it is natural to suppose that there 
would be no exception to the rule, and that it would 
never be permitted to indicate the bird's presence after 
it had been flushed and thoroughly alarmed. But the 
instances when this is not the case are very numerous, 
and have been experienced by every sportsman, and they 
would seem to prove that the bird has not the power 
to withhold this evidence of its presence at will. When 
a bevy alights after having been flushed there are no 
tell-tale footsteps to give notice to the keen nostrils of 
the dog that any quail is near. Each bird, as it alights, 
remains motionless in a compact mass, every feather 
pressing close to the body, and occupying the smallest 
space possible. Unless it is almost stepped upon by the 
dog its presence would not likely be detected, for the 
bird would not move unless trodden on, and naturally 
there would be little or no scent from its body to betray 
its position. But the instant a movement was made then 
the tell-tale effluvia would escape, and the bird's locality 



30 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

be discovered. When they are readily found it may be 
on account of one having stirred after alighting, and, 
when flushed by the dog, the noise of the wings caused 
the others to start or change their positions, and as any 
movement would permit the scent to escape, they would 
also be quickly discovered. I do not think it at all prob- 
able the birds have any power over the natural scent of 
their bodies, but its absence at times is probably caused 
in some such way as that stated above. 



COLINUS VIRGINIANUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Eastern United States from 
Southern Ontario and Maine to the Gulf States, but not in Florida, 
where it is represented by an allied race. West of the Mississippi 
to South Dakota (possibly introduced in the last named State 
from Florida), Missouri, and eastern Texas. Its range westward 
is being gradually extended with the settlement of the country. 
It has also been introduced into New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, 
Idaho, and on the Pacific into California, Oregon, and Washing- 
ton. Breeds everywhere in its range. 

Adult Male. — Forehead and stripe over the eye, extending 
down the side of the neck, white ; in some specimens, notably one 
from Massachusetts before me, this stripe and the forehead are 
buff, like the throat of the, female. The upper side of this line is 
bordered with black. Top of head and neck, chestnut, with black 
interspersed on the former, and the feathers of the latter, with 
white on the webs; the chestnut being confined to an arrow-shaped 
mark at the tip, margined on either side with black. Sometimes 
this mark is all black. The amount of white seen on the neck 
varies greatly among individuals, and sometimes there is much 
buff instead of white shown. Upper part of back, light chestnut ; 
margin of webs of some feathers, blue-gray, vermiculated with 
black and more or less conspicuous. Back, rump, and upper tail- 
coverts varying from a grayish to a yellowish brown, blotched on 
middle of the back with black, and with dark brown or black 
triangular or arrow-headed markings along the shafts of the 
feathers at their tips, and irregular narrow black bars across the 



BOB WHITE. 3 1 

webs. Wings, rufous or grayish, blotched with black like the back, 
with buff edges on scapulars and inner secondaries forming a 
continuous rather broad line down either side of the back. Pri- 
maries, dark brown. Throat, white, a narrow black line under 
the eye. Ear-coverts, chestnut, sometimes black ; a black ring 
surrounds the white of the throat, commencing at ear-coverts. 
Breast and under parts, white or buffy white, crossed with 
irregular narrow black lines. Flank feathers, rich chestnut, with 
white edges barred with black. Some specimens have a band of 
chestnut across the breast beneath the black ring. Vent, white. 
Under tail-coverts, varying from pale to deep chestnut, ' with 
white on webs near their tips and a V-shaped black mark, but 
this last is sometimes absent. Tail, bluish-gray, sometimes ver- 
miculated with black or brown near tips. Bill black. Legs and 
feet yellowish brown. Total length about g| inches; wing, 4^ ; 
tail, 2f ; tarsus, \\ ; bill, f. 

There is much individual variation in the markings of Quail, 
although they may have a close general resemblance to each 
other, and birds from different sections of the United States, not 
inhabited by subspecies, present numerous differences both in 
color and style of markings. But this is only what may be 
expected when a species is_scattered over so large a portion of the 
continent as is this one, and subjected to such a variety of climate 
as is experienced within the boundaries of its distribution. The 
above description will, however, answer for the average style of 
" Bob White " generally met with. 

Adult Female. — There is not any especial difference in the 
plumage of the sexes, but the female can always be recognized 
by the buff stripe over the eye, and the buff throat. In other 
respects she closely resembles the male, and has about the same 
dimensions as are given above for him. 

Downy Young. — Head, buff, with a chestnut line on forehead 
broadening to a patch on occiput. A black line behind the eye, 
and a spot of the same color at the corner of the mouth. Upper 
parts, chestnut ; lower parts, grayish buff, brownish on sides. 



THE FLORIDA BOB WHITE. 

'""PHIS is a small, dark race of the common Bob White, 
and is found throughout Florida, save possibly the 
extreme southern portions. It was formerly very abun- 
dant, and is still in some parts of the State, but from 
man's persecutions and indiscriminate slaughter the birds 
have, in many districts, been greatly reduced in numbers. 
It is a very tame and confiding little creature and, like 
its Northern relative, prefers to live in the vicinity of 
man's habitations, and rarely leaves the locality in which 
it was hatched. It keeps to the open woods or cultivated 
grounds in the neighborhood of clumps of bushes or 
thickets of various sorts, into which it can escape from 
its pursuers. . The nesting season in some localities be- 
gins very early, sometimes by the middle of February, 
but probably April is the month when incubation gen- 
erally commences, and young birds have been met with 
early in July. Two broods are raised in a season, and 
the nest is placed in some retired spot hidden by a pal- 
metto or by thick grass and weeds. 

Their habits are the same as those of the Northern 
bird, and they lie well before the dog, and have all the 
game qualities of our familiar Bob White. The average 
number of eggs is not so large as that found in the nests 
of their relative, and from ten to fourteen may be con- 
sidered the extremes, though sometimes many more 
than the maximum given are obtained. They resemble 
in every respect those of Bob White. 

On account of the number of broods each pair will 

32 



->^ 




WSSSk 



^^^.-,,^1 



Copyrighted by Francis P. Harper, /U97 

2. Florida Bob White. 



THE FLORIDA BOB WHITE. 33 

raise in a season, and their considerable size, there is 
no reason why this bird should not be abundant in all 
the districts in which it is found, affording food and sport 
for multitudes of people. But so long as each person is 
permitted to do with them as seemeth good in his own 
eyes, the time cannot be far distant when it will become 
scarce in many parts of Florida and extinct in some, 
The winter brings many men to the State who hunt with- 
out ceasing, and this little bird is one of the chief objects 
they seek. The same covey is followed day after day until 
only two or three, or perhaps no birds at all are left, and 
then new localities are sought and fresh coveys decimated 
or destroyed. The negroes also snare multitudes of 
Quail, and on every occasion that offers take potshots 
at a bevy huddled together on the ground. It cannot 
therefore be surprising, that from man's legitimate and 
illegitimate killing, in connection with that accomplished 
by furred, feathered, and scaly foes, the lives of the 
Florida Quail are constantly sacrificed, and the existence 
of the race threatened. The food of this bird consists of 
seeds and berries, and its notes are the same as those 
of Bob White. 

COLINUS VIRGINIANUS FLORIDANUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — State of Florida. 

Adult Male. — In its general markings this bird resembles its 
relative " Bob White "of the Northern United States, but is very 
much darker in all its coloration. The top of the head is almost 
black, and the white under parts are barred irregularly with jet 
black, and the chestnut flank feathers are marked on their outer 
webs with white and jet black. Lower abdomen and vent, dusky 
white barred with black. The back, wings, and tail are similar to 
those of the typical style, but much darker in all the colors, 
except perhaps the tail feathers, which are not much different in 
hue from those of the Northern " Bob White." Throat and line 



34 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

over eye, pure white. Total length about 7f inches ; wing, 4$ ; 
tail, 2f ; tarsus, \\ ; bill, \. 

It will be seen from the above that the Florida bird is both 
darker and rather smaller than C. virginianus. 

Adult Female. — In her coloring this sex of the Florida Quail 
bears the same relation to the male as the hen of the Northern 
"Bob White " does to him, and is arrayed in hues of various 
shades, as much darker as those of the male Florida bird are 
darker than those of the Virginian species. She has the buff 
throat and stripe over the eye, and her dimensions are about the 
same as those of the male. 




Copyrighted by Francis P. Harper, 

3. Texan Bob White. 



TEXAN BOB WHITE. 

C XCEPTING the Staked-Plains in the northwest part 
of the State, this bird is a resident of the greater por- 
tion of Texas, and grades in the east into the true Bob 
White of the Atlantic States. It has a general resem- 
blance to the Northern bird, but is lighter in color, and 
the male has usually a pale cinnamon chestband beneath 
the black collar. In habits it does not differ from Bob 
White, and the notes and calls it utters are the same as 
those of the common Quail. In most parts of the State 
they are tame and unsuspicious, hardly taking the trouble 
to get out of the way of approaching danger. The males 
are pugnacious, though, and frequent battles occur be- 
tween rivals for the affection of some shy female, who 
all the time regards the combatants with seeming indif- 
ference, as if not caring especially which one came off 
victorious. 

The Texan Bob White is a bird of the lowlands, 
not going above 2000 feet, and is very common in 
the Rio Grande Valley, where it visits the ranches and 
feeds about the buildings. On the open prairies, where 
it is very numerous, it feeds on the seeds of the various 
grasses, grain, berries, and different species of insects 
from grasshoppers to ants, and, if alarmed, seeks to 
hide in mesquito bushes and dense thickets. Two, some- 
times three broods are raised in the season. The nest, 
a slight cavity made in some thick grass and lined with 
straws and arched over with the same, contains usually 
from twelve to fifteen eggs, in shape and color no way 



36 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

different from those of the common Bob White. Occa- 
sionally very much larger numbers are found in one nest, 
but this is probably the production of more than one 
hen. Eggs have been found in May, and again as late 
as September, which would show that the entire summer 
has been passed in hatching and tending the young. 
Being so prolific, the wonder is not so much that the 
birds are plentiful but rather that they are not more 
numerous. This Quail, when flushed, rises with the usual 
loud, whirring sound and flies in a straight line, and will 
lie close and well to the dog. When undisturbed, like 
the northern Bob White, it takes flight quite noiselessly, 
without any of the whirring made when suddenly 
startled. 

The Texan Bob White has many enemies, but proba- 
bly none so formidable as the rattlesnake, numbers of 
which are found in the country it inhabits. Whether 
the serpent crawls slyly up to the bevy when feeding or 
resting, or lies in ambush and strikes the luckless birds 
when passing, I know not, having never caught one 
in the act of making a meal of Quail, but whatever the 
method be, it is a fact that these reptiles kill many; five 
having been found at one time inside of a dead rattler. 
Other enemies among the wild creatures also make them 
their prey, and so their number is kept from becoming 
too great. 

CO LINUS VIRGINIANUS TEXAN US. 

Geographical Distribution. — Distributed throughout western 
and southern Texas. In Mexico from Guadalajara in the west, to 
Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon in the south. 

Adult Male. — With the general style of markings seen in the 
Northern " Bob White " this bird is lighter in coloration, and has 
a tinge of olive-gray prevailing over the upper surface, which is 



TEXAN BOB WHITE, 37 

not, as a general thing, blotched with black to any such extent. 
The lines formed by outer edges of scapulars, tertials, and inner 
secondaries are very pale buff, almost white, and the bars on the 
feathers are in many cases of the same color. On the upper part 
of breast, beneath the black that surrounds the white throat, is a 
narrow pale cinnamon band, and the white of the rest of the 
under parts is irregularly barred with jet black. Rest of plumage 
like the Northern bird but paler. Total length about 9 inches ; 
wing, 4I ; tail, i\ ; tarsus, \\ ; bill, \. 

Adult Female. — General plumage marked like the male but 
very pale in its general hues, in some specimens the lower back 
and rump being a light olive-brown barred with buff. A band of 
very pale cinnamon crosses upper part of breast, and the white 
under parts are barred with dark brown. Line over eyes, pale 
buff, and the throat also pale buff, becoming almost white in the 
center. Dimensions about the same as those of the male. 

As in the other forms of "Bob White," there is considerable 
variation among individuals of the Texan Quail, and a description 
of one bird would not be equally accurate for all, but this form 
can generally be distinguished by its pale colors and narrow 
cinnamon breast band. 

Young. — Top of head, rufous, with a black spot in the center, 
and a narrow black line from behind the eye. Upper part and 
wings, rufous, mottled with blackish brown feathers, streaked and 
tipped with white. Secondaries, pale brown, mottled with black- 
ish brown on outer webs, and barred with buffy white and tipped 
with same. Throat white. Breast, pale brown, streaked along 
the shafts of the feathers with white and vermiculated on breast 
with dark brown ; rest of under parts, whitish brown, faintly 
barred in the flanks with darker brown. Bill, light horn color. 



MASKED BOB WHITE. 

""pHIS singularly colored Quail is unlike any other 
species inhabiting America north of Mexico. It is 
found in southern Arizona, Sonora, and Mexico, espe- 
cially in the district lying between the gulf coast of 
Sonora and the Barboquivari range, and is abundant 
between the last-named mountains and the Plomoso. 
Mr. Herbert Brown of Tucson, Arizona, was the first 
to obtain this bird within the limits of the United States, 
and he says that it is found on the Sonoita Creek, about 
sixty miles north of the Sonora line, and from the 
Sonoita Valley it ranges in a westerly direction within 
Arizona Territory for a hundred miles through a strip 
of country not. thirty miles wide. In a wild state this 
Quail does not appear to be nearly so abundant in the 
country it inhabits (at least on our side of the line), as 
are the other species of quail that are indigenous to our 
soil and inhabitants of the same States. The Masked 
Quail found in Arizona are apparently but an overflow 
across our border from the main body of birds in Sonora. 
They are met with in the valley, on the table-lands, 
and even as high as 6000 feet, two having been killed 
at that elevation in the Huachuca Mountains, in a canon 
about fifteen miles north of the border; but nowhere can 
they be considered abundant. 

Although so totally different in appearance from our 
common Bob White, the Masked Quail has a call note 
which resembles exactly that of the Northern species and, 
while uttering this, it perches on rocks, bushes, or other 

38 










4. Masked Bob White. 



MASKED BOB WHITE. 39 

slight elevations. It has a second note, resembling Hoo- 
we, which like the Quoi-i-hee of Bob White, is uttered 
when the birds are scattered and desirous of again 
coming together. The habits of the two species are 
very similar, and the present one feeds on insects of 
various kinds, many sorts of seeds, and sometimes small 
leaves. It is a very handsome bird, and in the sun the 
breast of the male appears red and makes him a 
very conspicuous object. The body is very plump and of 
about the same size as Gambel's Quail. The eggs are 
exactly like Bob White's in size, color, and shape, and 
the nest is also a similar structure, a depression in the 
ground hidden amid the grass, or in some retired equally 
well-screened position, withdrawn from the prying eyes 
of its enemies. 

From having been taken at as lofty an elevation as 
6000 feet, it would seem that this handsome species 
was hardy and able to withstand quite severe weather, 
and it might be a profitable bird to introduce in the 
Northern States in those localities where the original 
stock from various causes had disappeared. Until, how- 
ever, they had become thoroughly acclimatized, the birds 
would require considerable attention and care, especially 
in severe winters and times of heavy snows. 



CO LINUS RIDGWAYI. 

Geographical Distribution. — Southern Arizona to Sonora, 
Mexico. 

Adult Male. — Head, black, mixed with chestnut on top, passing 
into nearly all chestnut on occiput and hind-neck, the latter with 
occasional spots of white. Upper part of back, chestnut, sparsely 
mottled with black, but rest of upper parts and wings closely 
barred with black and buff ; central tail feathers like the back, 
remainder bluish gray slightly mottled with buff near the tips. 



40 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

White line over the eye ; sides of face and throat, jet black ; 
entire rest of under parts, uniform cinnamon rufous ; bill, black ; 
legs and feet pale brown. Total length, 8| inches ; wing, 4^ 
inches ; tail, 2f ; tarsus, \\ ; bill, \. 

Adult Female. — The female resembles very closely that of the 
Texan Quail, but is much paler, especially on the upper parts, 
which have a good deal of light buff markings in bars and mot- 
tling. The wings are particularly noticeable for their pale color- 
ing. The under parts are very much alike in the two birds, but the 
present species has a narrower and paler cinnamon band on the 
breast, and the bars on abdomen and upper breast are darker, 
consequently more conspicuous. The buff throat is very pale in 
the center and toward the chin. In dimensions the sexes are 
about the same. 













5. Mountain Partridge. 



MOUNTAIN PARTRIDGE. 

A LONG the western slopes of the Coast Range in Cali- 
fornia and Oregon, the line of its habitat inclining 
more to the eastward as it goes north, this beautiful bird 
has a rather restricted dispersion, even in the States which 
are its home. It has been introduced into the State of 
Washington, and appears to have secured a permanent 
foothold north of Seattle. A few crossed to the north of 
the Columbia, but on the south bank of that river the 
species has worked its way down as far as Astoria. 

This Quail is rather abundant in the Willamette Valley, 
Oregon, and common in certain parts of California, but 
is very rare south of San Francisco, though it is occasion- 
ally met with in flocks of the California Partridge. It 
seeks moist districts and places where the rainfall is fre- 
quent. It is a shy bird, not easily found, and the flock 
runs along the ground for quite a distance before taking 
wing, and then scatters in every direction. The male 
has a kind of crowing note, and when a flock becomes 
separated its members call to each other in tones similar 
to the note of a hen turkey. This species is not very gre- 
garious ; that is to say, it goes in small companies of per- 
haps twelve to twenty, but is never seen in such great 
congregations as those in which the California Partridge 
is accustomed to assemble. The female calls her brood 
by clucking like the common hen, and the little creatures 
are great adepts at hiding on the least approach of danger. 
The food of the Mountain Partridge is like that of all its 
relatives, seeds and insects of various kinds, and it some- 



42 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

times approaches the farmers' buildings for the grain that 
may be scattered about. Its flesh is very palatable, and 
many are sold in the markets of the cities on the Pacific 
Coast, where I have frequently seen them hanging in 
large bunches. Many are shot by sportsmen over dogs, 
but more are taken, both alive and dead, in traps and 
snares of many kinds. The nest is the usual slight 
depression in the ground, hidden in the grass or under 
bushes or logs, or anything that will afford the requisite 
privacy and shelter, and the eggs, in number from eight 
to perhaps a dozen, are ovate in shape, grading from a 
pale cream to a rich buff in color, and without spots. In 
size they average, according to Bendire, 34.5 by 26 milli- 
meters. 

OREORTYX P ICTUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — From the Bay of San Francisco, 
California, through Oregon and Washington. Introduced on 
Vancouver Island, 

Adult Male. — Top of head, sides of neck and breast, plumbe- 
ous ; entire upper parts, upper tail-coverts, and wings, deep 
olive-brown, in some specimens with a rufous tinge, especially 
upon the wings ; crest of lengthened straight feathers, black ; 
chin, white ; entire throat, rich chestnut, bordered on the sides 
with black, and separated from the olive ear-coverts and bluish 
neck by a conspicuous white line ; a white spot behind the eye ; 
flanks, deep chestnut, broadly barred with black and white, the 
latter widest and most conspicuous ; middle of belly, white ; 
under tail-coverts black, the feathers with a central line of deep 
chestnut ; tail, olive-brown, mottled with black ; inner edges 
of tertials broadly marked with ochraceous, forming a line on each 
side of the rump ; bill, black. Total length about 10 inches, 
wing, 5| ; tail, 3^ ; tarsus, if ; bill on culmen, f . 

There seems to be considerable variation in the color of the 
inner edges of the tertials, some birds having them white tinged 
with deep buff or ochraceous, and this is confined mainly toward 
the tips of the feathers ; while in others the white portion is more 






MOUNTAIN PARTRIDGE. 43 

or less suffused with ochraceous, and I am inclined to think it is 
rather unusual to find examples with these lines entirely buff or 
ochraceous. My examination of specimens seems to show that 
there is always more or less white visible, and that the buff rarely 
is the dominant color. 

Adult Female. — Birds of this sex have little to distinguish 
them from the males, but the crest is shorter ; in color of plumage 
there is hardly any noticeable difference. 



PLUMED PARTRIDGE. 

TNLIKE its relative the Mountain Partridge, which it 
closely resembles, this species only approaches the 
seacoast in the southern parts of its range, but is essen- 
tially a bird of the drier regions of the interior, and a 
dweller of the mountains; and the name of " Mountain 
Partridge " would be much more applicable to it than 
it is to the one living to the westward of its habitat. It 
is found on both sides of the Sierra Nevada in eastern 
Oregon, and southward to northern Lower California. 
It ascends high upon the mountains, having been met 
with at an altitude of 7000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, 
and Bendire found it on Mount Kearsage in Inyo 
County, California, at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The 
most easterly point of its range is the Argus Moun- 
tains in southeastern California, where Dr. Fisher met 
with it. In winter it descends toward the valleys and 
passes this inclement season in a milder climate, but 
on the return of spring travels upward again, often not 
stopping until the snow line is reached. It is shy like the 
Mountain Partridge, so called, and like it goes in small 
coveys, and escapes by running, if possible, rather than 
trusting to its wings. This is the inveterate habit of all 
the plumed and crested Partridges, lessening very much 
the sport of hunting them, very trying to the human, and 
perfectly exasperating and bewildering to the dog. In 
spring the male utters a loud clear call, something like 
Phen-i-e, Phen-i-e, while mounted upon some stump 
or rock, and the mating season commences about April. 







_7AwiK /Slxebbanl, 



6. Plumed Partridge. 



PLUMED PARTRIDGE. 45 

The nest, a slightly contrived affair, is placed in some 
well-concealed spot on the ground, and the bird lays 
about the same number of eggs as the Mountain Par- 
tridge. These are smooth and glossy, varying from a 
pale cream to a reddish-buff in color, and are without 
any spots. In size they average about the same as those 
of the last species. 

The Plumed Partridge is a beautiful bird, one of 
the largest members of the Tribe, and with its long 
upright slender plumes decorating the head, and its 
strong contrasting hues, presents a very handsome and 
gallant appearance. Although resembling very closely 
in coloration the Mountain Partridge, it can be distin- 
guished by its hind-neck, which has the same plumbeous 
color as the breast, while its relative has this part olive- 
brown or umber. By some, however, the two forms are 
not considered even as subspecifically distinct, but as 
their habitats can be fairly well defined, it would seem 
best to recognize the two races. When alarmed this 
bird utters a sharp quick note like " quit" several times 
repeated; and evinces the same anxiety and solicitude 
for its young as do other members of the Family by 
feigning lameness and inability to fly, uttering all the 
time a shrill, plaintive cry. While the old bird is thus en- 
deavoring to draw the intruder away, the young are 
busily taking care of themselves, scattering in all direc- 
tions and hiding under leaves or in bushes, where they 
squat and remain motionless, effectually concealed by 
their close resemblance in color to the surrounding ob- 
jects. Their food consists of insects, seeds, buds, and 
leaves of various plants, and grain if obtainable. 



46 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



OREORTYX P ICTUS PLUMIFERUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Both sides of the Sierra Nevada, 
and in eastern Oregon and to the Panamint Mountains and 
Mount Magruder, Nevada. In California from San Francisco 
Bay to the Argus Mountains. 

Adult Male. — Forehead and chin, white ; head, hind-neck, 
upper part of back and breast, plumbeous ; long black crest from 
occiput ; throat, deep chestnut, bordered on sides with black, out- 
side of which is a line of white ; wings, back, and upper tail- 
coverts, grayish olive ; flanks, deep chestnut, barred broadly with 
white, beneath which is a narrow black bar ; abdomen, chestnut '> 
under tail-coverts black, the feathers having a central line of 
deep chestnut ; inner edges of tertials, narrowly lined with white, 
forming two lines on back ; dimensions about the same as those 
of the O. pic t us. 

There is no particular difference in the coloring of the sexes, 
and the female is recognizable chiefly by her shorter crest. 




7. San Pedro Partridge. 



SAN PEDRO PARTRIDGE. 

f HAVE never seen this bird alive. Its range appears 
* to be restricted to the San Pedro Mountains, Lower 
California, where it is found from the foothills to the tops 
of the loftiest peaks, estimated to be over 12,000 feet in 
height. The discoverer of this race, Mr. Anthony, writes 
to Captain Bendire that it is not common below 2500 
feet of elevation, that the call notes are a soft, far-reaching 
" Chay chay," like the notes of a flute in sweetness. The 
alarm note was a soft " ch-ch-ch-e-e-ea, ch-e-e-ea," which 
increased with the appearance of danger to a harder 
" kee-ke-ea," and this last cry is taken up by every mem- 
ber of the covey as they draw away. When taking wing 
a loud " pit pit " is often heard. In his remarks on this 
race, Mr. Anthony says he found this bird quite abun- 
dant from 6000 to 10,000 feet above the sea, occurring 
wherever water and timber afforded it drink and shelter 
(" seeking the shelter of the manzanitas, from whence 
their clear, mellow notes were heard morning and even- 
ing, so suggestive of cool brooks and rustling pines, but 
so out of place in the hot, barren hills of that region "). 

Flocks wintered around this camp at Valladores, six 
miles from the base of the range at an elevation of 2500 
feet, and a few pair bred there, but by March nearly all 
had disappeared, moving higher up the mountains. The 
nest was a mere hollow under a manzanita bush, and 
filled with dry leaves of the lilac and manzanita, and the 
eggs are creamy white and unspotted. 

47 



48 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



OREORTYX P ICTUS CONFINIS. 

Geographical Distribution. — " Mountains of San Pedro range, 
Lower California, reaching to valleys in winter." — Anthony. 

Adult Male. — " Back wings and tail, ashy brown with slight 
olive wash ; inner secondaries and tertials bordered with 
white, forming, when wings are closed, two parallel bars of white; 
foreparts above and below, slaty blue, slightly grayer above; 
belly, rich chestnut, banded on the sides with bars of white and 
black ; flanks, rufous ; tibia, ashy ; crissum, velvety black, 
streaked with chestnut ; throat, chestnut, bordered laterally 
with a narrow black line, which in turn is bordered with white ; 
a white mask surrounding the bill and changing to grayish on 
forehead. Arrow plumes black."— Anthony. 




a &_ 



£c\wov SV H ,ar,l 



!. Scaled Partridge. 



SCALED PARTRIDGE. 

C CALED Partridge, Blue, White Top-Knot, and White 
^ Crested Quail, by all of which names this species is 
known, is found from western Texas, through New 
Mexico to southern Arizona in the United States, and 
also south imto> northern Mexico. North and east of 
the White and Mogallon mountains it does not seem 
to go, while Fanin County, Texas, and the Colorado 
River in Arizona, are the eastern and western limits of its 
dispersion within our boundaries. My experience with 
this beautiful bird has been gained in New Mexico, in 
the southern portions, on the mesas lying near the Mo- 
gallon Mountains, and westward into Arizona. It does 
not frequent timber, but dwells in the open, on the high 
plateaus, where the cactus grows, and for this reason it 
is sometimes known as the Cactus Quail. It seems to 
be independent of water, and frequents dry and sandy 
districts, where vegetation is exceedingly sparse, indeed 
almost absent, and where there is nothing to shelter it 
either from the heat or its enemies, save a few clumps of 
cacti, yuccas, and similar stunted plants, scattered over 
the plain; and the more spiny and thorny the bushes 
the more the Blue Quail loves to frequent them. 

This species goes in flocks sometimes of considerable 
size, several broods probably joining together, and I have 
always found them exceedingly shy and wary, commenc- 
ing to run as soon as my presence was discovered. They 
usually went in Indian file, following some one bird that 



50 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

appeared to act as a leader, though occasionally in their 
haste the main body would overtake him, and then for 
a space they would continue on bunched up all together, 
gradually straggling out again into a long line. The 
body was held very erect and stiff while running, the tail 
almost touching the ground, and the white crest was 
spread out in a fan shape, showing very conspicuously. 
This bird runs with great speed, and seems to be able to 
keep it up for a long distance, and flies with much reluc- 
tance, alighting almost immediately and beginning to run 
at once. When compelled to take wing, it rises with the 
usual zvhir-r-r, and proceeds on a slightly curved line, 
rarely straight ahead, and if, on alighting, it should stop 
for a moment, it is always under the cover of some cactus 
or other low bush, which affords a place of concealment, 
and from which it can watch its pursuer, before starting 
to run again. 

A dog is practically useless for hunting the Scaled 
Partridge, for if he is well broken and attempts to point a 
covey, the birds will run several hundred yards while he 
is standing, and then will add several hundred more, 
while he is trailing them, and the poor animal becomes 
bewildered and disgusted and is apt to run also. I know 
nothing so trying to the patience of a sportsman as the 
tactics of this species, unless it be the similar habits of 
other Crested Quail. As a rule this species was not very 
much hunted in the localities I met with it, and it always 
seemed to me rather singular that they should be so 
wary, for that is an attribute that wild creatures usually 
acquire after having made the acquaintance of man and 
learned that his presence always brought wounds and 
death, and that safety to themselves was only to be ob- 
tained by leaving his vicinity as soon as possible. But 
these birds seem instinctively to have ascertained this 



SCALED PARTRIDGE. 5 1 

fact before they ever saw a human being, and decamp at 
once whenever a man appears. 

This Partridge is a dweller of high table-lands and is 
found at an altitude of 6000 to 7000 feet, and subsists 
mainly upon various kinds of small seeds, grain if any is 
grown in the vicinity, berries, buds or tender parts of 
plants, and insects of different kinds. When alarmed it 
utters a curious low boom-like sound, at other times 
a short, quick note, difficult to indicate by letters. There 
is no difference in the plumage of the sexes, the female 
being as gayly clad as the male, and in this respect the 
species constitutes an exception among the other varie- 
ties of Partridge inhabiting the United States, for in all of 
these, the females are rather differently arrayed from the 
males, with conspicuous markings indicating their sex. 
The nesting season begins about May, and generally two 
broods are raised, and sometimes even three. The 
slightly formed nest is placed on the ground under some 
sheltering bush, or in a corn, or other grain field, in alfalfa 
grass, and sometimes in potato fields. The eggs, in num- 
ber usually about a dozen, vary from creamy white to 
pale buff in color, and are covered with various-sized red- 
dish brown or fawn-colored spots, regularly distributed 
over the shell. Sometimes these spots are so small that 
they are barely distinguishable. The shape is subpyri- 
form. This species seems to prefer to make its nest on 
the upper mesas, even among the foothills of the moun- 
tain ranges, returning in winter, if the weather is severe, 
to the lower lands and river bottoms. I have never met 
the coveys in thickets, or amid underbrush, or in timber 
even if very open, but it is evidently a bird of the treeless 
country and cacti-covered plains. Doubtless, like many 
another species, its habits vary in different localities, and 
it suits itself to its surroundings. If by chance Gambel's 



52 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

Partridge should inhabit the same district as the Scaled 
Partridge, the two species associate together apparently 
on most amicable terms, but the kind of ground each 
prefers is usually of so different a character that they are 
not often found together. The Blue Partridge is a hand- 
some bird and attractive in spite of its unsportsmanlike 
habits, the markings of its plumage causing it to appear 
as if covered with imbricated scales, a rather unique dress 
among its brethren. 

CALLIPEPLA SQUAMATA. 

Geographical Distribution. — Western Texas, New Mexico, 
and Southern Arizona. Valley of Mexico. 

Adult. — Head, brown or brownish gray, varying in depth of 
hue among individuals ; tip of crest, white ; throat, pale buff. 
Hind-neck, upper parts of back and breast, bluish gray, each 
feather bordered with black, giving the plumage a scaly appear- 
ance ; scapulars, wings, lower back, and rump, pale brown; 
upper tail-coverts, and tail, bluish gray; flanks, bluish gray, 
streaked with white; rest of lower parts, pale buff; feathers, mar- 
gined with blackish brown; bill, black. Total length, 9! inches; 
wing, 5 ; tail, 4^ ; tarsus, if. There is no difference whatever 
in the coloring of the plumage in the sexes, and males and 
females are indistinguishable except by dissection. 




9 . Chestnut-Bellied Scaled Partridge. 



CHESTNUT-BELLIED SCALED PARTRIDGE. 

HP HIS subspecies, at times indifferently distinguishable 
from the Scaled Partridge, has a very restricted 
range, being found within our limits only in the lower 
Rio Grande Valley, in Texas, and across the border in 
eastern Mexico. Among the foothills of the Rio Grande, 
about one hundred miles from the coast, as stated by my 
friend Mr. Geo. B. Sennett, is the eastern limit of this 
bird. In its habits, selection of food, and character of 
the country it dwells in, it closely resembles the Scaled 
Partridge. Some specimens are strongly and broadly 
marked with chestnut on the belly, this at times being 
very dark in color; but this varies greatly, both in hue 
and in the space it covers, until some individuals are met 
with that are very difficult to assign to either the species 
or the race. They grade in a large series of examples, 
directly from one to the other, so as to make it impossible 
to say where one form begins and the other ends. This 
bird raises two broods in a season and commences to lay 
as early as March, depositing from twelve to twenty eggs 
in a slight cavity in the ground scraped out under some 
thick bushes or clump of grass, and lined with grass. 
The eggs vary from a pale creamy white to a rich buff, 
covered all over with reddish brown spots, from the size 
of a pin's head to a considerable blotch. There is great 
variation in both color and markings, and it is very diffi- 
cult, if not impossible, at times to distinguish those be- 
longing to the two forms apart. 

53 



54 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



CALLIPEPLA SQUAMATA CASTANEIGASTRA. 

Geographical Distribution. — Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, 
Northeastern Mexico. 

Adult. — Head, brownish gray, darker than that of C. squa- 
mata, and the throat is also a darker buff; the blue of the breast 
and back is more of a decided tint, as is also the brown of the 
wings and lower back; lower parts, dark buff, ochraceous in some 
specimens, with a more or less extensive patch of rusty chestnut 
on the belly; upper tail -coverts and tail, bluish gray; there is 
more white on the crest, in certain examples, the feathers being 
nearly all white; in general appearance this is a darker bird than 
the typical style, but the chestnut patch varies greatly in extent 
among individuals, being reduced at times to barely a trace, and 
the two styles grade into each other by imperceptible degrees, 
until it is impossible to designate where one ends and the other 
begins; in size the two forms are about equal, and there is no 
difference in the color of plumage or style of markings between 
the sexes. 




io. California Partridge. 



CALIFORNIA PARTRIDGE. 

HP HIS is the species found in the coast region of Cali- 
fornia, northward to Vancouver's Island, as sepa- 
rated from its paler relative of the interior of Oregon, 
southward to Cape St. Lucas. 

It is a very handsome bird, perhaps not quite equal in 
this respect to its beautiful cousin Gambel's Partridge, 
with which the uninitiated frequently confound it, but 
with this solitary exception no other species can dispute 
successfully its claim to be the handsomest member of 
the family. 

It was not indigenous to the State of Washington, its 
range not extending farther north than Oregon, but it 
was introduced both there and in the islands of Puget 
Sound, and also in Vancouver Island (where I met with 
it), and has increased greatly in all these places. It is a 
resident species, does not migrate, frequents canons and 
bushy hillsides, also fields, is often seen in enormous 
flocks, as if many broods had united together, and runs 
rapidly over the ground, preferring to escape if possible 
by this method than to make use of its wings. These 
great flocks or packs are only formed in the fall of the 
year after the breeding season is over, and occasionally the 
number of birds gathered together will amount to several 
hundred, and they are then wilder than at other times. 
In the spring these packs gradually break up, and the 
birds commence to mate in March, if the winter has not 
lingered longer than usual. 

This species, like many others that have been persist- 

55 



56 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

ently hunted and trapped, has greatly decreased in num- 
ber in many localities where it was formerly very abundant, 
and the large packs mentioned above are not very often 
seen at the present time, except in districts far removed 
from towns or villages, in which every man carries a gun. 
The average number of eggs in the nest is about fifteen, 
and they have a creamy white, or buff ground color, 
minutely dotted or blotched with chestnut-brown, olive- 
gray, or pale rufous. The nest is almost always placed 
on the ground, sometimes without any attempt at con- 
cealment, but usually under some log or bush, or close 
to a stump. Instances are known, however, where this 
species has nested in trees at no great height from the 
ground. Incubation is carried on for about three weeks, 
and the young run as soon as hatched. 

The California Partridge is naturally of a tame and 
confiding disposition, and, when not molested, will ap- 
proach farm buildings and remain near the dwellings 
feeding among the poultry, but, when much hunted, soon 
becomes wild and wary, shunning man and all his belong- 
ings. The food consists of seeds, berries, and tender 
plants, and various insects, and it is upon these last that 
the chicks are usually fed. The male does not assist the 
females in incubating the eggs, but mounts guard close 
at hand, and utters his call note at intervals. The old 
birds tend the young carefully, and are very watchful of 
any danger threatening their chicks, which at the first 
note of warning scatter in all directions and hide under 
anything that will afford a cover, from a dried leaf to a 
log or bush, and if nothing of the kind is at hand, will 
squat upon the ground, remaining motionless until the 
cause of their fear has departed. 



CALIFORNIA PARTRIDGE. 57 



LOPHORTYX CALIFORNICUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — California coast region, as far 
south as Monterey. Introduced into Oregon, Washington, and 
British Columbia. 

Adult Male. — Forehead, buff; shafts of feathers, black; occiput, 
dark chestnut bordered anteriorly, and on the sides with black, 
followed by a line of pure white; line from bill to eye, white; 
chin and throat, jet black, bordered all around from behind the 
eye with white, which is again margined narrowly with black; 
back of neck and upper part of back, blue, the feathers 
margined with black and a minute bluish white spot at tip; 
entire upper parts, deep smoke brown; the inner edge of tertials, 
deep buff or ochraceous, forming two conspicuous lines; some- 
times the outer edges of the secondaries are margined with 
ochraceous; primaries, dark brown; breast, deep blue; belly, deep 
buff, the feathers margined with black; flanks, smoke brown, 
streaked with white; abdomen, dark chestnut, the feathers with 
black margins; vent and under tail-coverts, deep buff, with broad 
central streaks of dark brown; bill, black; crest, black, very nar- 
row at the base, widening out and curving forward at the tip; all 
the feathers, of which there are about six, inclosed between the 
webs of the anterior plume. Total length of bird, 10 inches; 
wing, \\; tail, 4; tarsus, \\; bill,£. 

Adult Female. — With certain resemblances to the male, the 
female differs in having a shorter, chestnut brown crest; head, 
smoky gray without white or black markings; no chestnut patch 
on abdomen, and the scaly markings less pronounced; otherwise 
she resembles the male, the colors, however, being less clear 
and more subdued. 



VALLEY PARTRIDGE. 

OALER in color than its relative of the coast, the 
present race inhabits the interior of Oregon, Nevada, 
and California as far to the southward as Cape St. Lucas, 
frequents the valleys and foothills of the mountains, and 
ascending the latter in Lower California to an elevation 
of about 8000 or 9000 feet. It is found on both slopes of 
the Sierra Nevada, and goes east to Death Valley, and 
along the Mojave River until it reaches the western limits 
of Gambel's Partridge. In the upper part of the Willa- 
mette Valley, Oregon, it is abundant, but in the lower 
part is supplanted by the California Partridge. It has 
been introduced into Utah, and flourished there in all 
suitable localities. It withstands cold very well, for Ben- 
dire states (Life Hist. N. Am. B. p. 27), that in the upper 
Klamath Valley, Oregon, he found a small covey, 
which passed successfully through the winter of 1882, 
though the thermometer registered more than once con- 
siderably below zero, and the next spring there were two 
coveys of half-grown birds. In Lower California very 
dry seasons occasionally occur, and it is a rather singular 
fact, and this has been proved by several careful 
observers, that during such periods the Valley Quail do 
not breed, but the large flocks that are formed during the 
autumn remain unbroken all summer. The cause of this 
curious condition of affairs may be the scarcity of seeds 
and tender grasses, which from lack of moisture have not 
appeared in the customary abundance. However, if the 
winter rainfall has been of the usual quantity, then the 

58 




--\ -■;>".* 



^•:Ws^'\ 



«Pfe 



ii. Valley Partridge. 



VALLEY PARTRIDGE. 59 

coveys break up in March, and mating begins. This fact 
is a very remarkable one, as it shows the suppression of 
the amatory instinct (we can hardly imagine at the will 
of the bird), at a time when, if it was allowed to have its 
usual sway with the consequent result, the probability 
would be that the young would perish from lack of food. 
But it would seem that the birds' volition had nothing 
to do with the case, for, as Mr. Anthony states (in a let- 
ter to Captain Bendire given in the work already cited), 
individuals obtained by him in April, May, and June, 
during one of these dry seasons, exhibited but a very 
slight development of the ovaries. The nesting season 
begins in March, perhaps a little later in the northern 
portion of its habitat, and the males at this time are very 
pugnacious, and frequent battles occur among them for 
the possession of some particular fair one. The chal- 
lenge call of the male is clear and loud, and he also has a 
low, tender note, which seems to be uttered solely for 
the female, and resembles the syllables ah-hooh. The 
nest is a very primitive affair; very often the eggs are 
deposited on the bare ground, under some bush, log, or 
by the side of a rock, or in similar situations as are 
selected by the California Partridge, and the number, 
coloring, and marking of the eggs are the same as those 
of the species just named. 

The habits and food of the two birds are very much 
alike, as would be supposed, and the present race runs 
as swiftly, exhibits the same unwillingness to lie before 
a dog, takes to a tree or bush quickly, and evinces the 
same indisposition to fly as is displayed by its relative. 
If the flock is met suddenly, the birds utter a cry that 
sounds very much as if they were trying to swear at the 
intruder in Spanish, and many an angry ca-raho is 
hurled at his head in earnest tones, as if the startled birds 



60 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

were indignantly warning the trespasser away from their 
premises. This race is fond of frequenting thickets, 
hedge-rows along the cultivated fields, and is naturally 
tame and of a sociable disposition. This trustful nature, 
however, is rapidly changed, to one of suspicion and alarm 
after the birds have had a short experience with their great 
enemy man, and when that is the case his appearance is 
announced by a sharp note, resembling pip-pip-pip, 
and the flock is off on a quick run ending, if closely pur- 
sued, in a short flight and a general scattering all over 
the locality. As a game bird, to hunt with a dog, they 
are very unsatisfactory and disappointing, in no way to 
be compared to the brave little Bob White of the Eastern 
States. 

LOPHORTYX CALIFORNICUS VALLICOLA. 

Geographical Distribution. — Interior of Oregon, California, 
and Nevada, East to the Panamint Mountains, South to Cape 
St. Lucas. 

Adult Male. — In general appearance this bird resembles the 
California Partridge; the pattern of markings and distribution of 
colors being almost precisely similar, but there is a consistent 
variation in the hues themselves; the color and markings of the 
heads of the two forms are alike, and the crests are the same, 
but the upper parts of the Valley Partridge are grayish brown, and 
the inner margins of tertials are white; the belly is white or 
buffy white, and the flanks grayish brown; it is altogether a 
bluer or more grayish blue bird, and much lighter beneath when 
contrasted with the typical styles; in size it equals the L. cali- 
fornicus. 

Adult Female. — Forehead, bluish gray; occiput, rusty brown; 
crest, very short, snuff brown; in the color of the upper parts she 
resembles the male, and the margins of the tertials are buffy 
whjte ; throat, brownish white, streaked with darker brown; 
breast, bluish gray, flanks, same color, streaked with white; lower 
breast and abdomen, white, the feathers margined with black; 
under tail-coverts, bronzy brown, margined with pale buff or 



VALLEY PARTRIDGE. 6 1 

whitish; the female is conspicuous beneath by the amount of 
white exhibited, and like the male she is lighter in color than the 
corresponding sex of the typical form; there are no black or 
white markings on the head. 

Young, Half Grown. — Forehead, bluish gray, streaked with 
white ; feathers margined with black, rest of head on top, dark 
rusty brown; short crest, rusty brown, black in center; back of 
neck, bluish gray, vermiculated with light brown, rest of back 
bluish gray, feathers margined with blackish brown; wings, 
rusty brown, barred and vermiculated with black; sides of head 
and throat, buff, streaked with bluish gray; breast pale bluish- 
gray; rest of under parts, buffy white, indistinctly barred with 
bluish gray; tail blue, barred and mottled on edge of webs with 
black, 



GAMBEL'S PARTRIDGE. 

\A/HILE disputing the palm for beauty of dress and 
gallant appearance with its relative the California 
Partridge, the present species possesses all of the same 
disagreeable traits when he is regarded in the light of 
a game bird. In his legs does he trust, and the rocky 
canons and hillsides are his delight, and when met with 
at the base of these often lofty and steeply ascending 
cliffs, instead of flying as any well-mannered Quail would 
do, he runs with all his might, leaping from stone to 
stone, dodging behind one bowlder after another until 
he becomes a mere speck above one, or disappears 
altogether. The range of this handsome bird extends 
from western Texas, through New Mexico and Arizona 
to California, where it meets the Valley Partridge in San 
Bernardino County, the Colorado desert proving an 
effective barrier to its extension farther westward. It is 
also found in southeastern Utah, and was introduced at 
Fort Union in northern New Mexico. It also crosses 
our southern border and is a resident of northwestern 
Mexico. Any kind of a locality within its dispersion 
seems to be perfectly satisfactory to this bird; whether it 
be a dry and sandy stretch blistering in torrid heat, or a 
place rocky and bare of leafy covering, or tracts hidden 
by the densest and most impregnable thickets — they are 
all the same to Gambel's Quail. From my experience, 
however, in hunting them, I should say, if they had any 
choice of locality it lay between dense clumps, matted 
with vines and bristling with thorns, into and through 

62 



GAM BEL S PARTRIDGE. 6$ 

which nothing living could penetrate save themselves, 
or mountain sides that ascend in a direct line and 
which are covered with jagged stones and slippery bowl- 
ders, over which the light-footed birds pass without 
effort, stopping occasionally to look down and jeer at the 
struggling, panting mortal below who is striving to con- 
quer the ascent, and When the pursuer had arrived 
at the summit, the Quail, it would be discovered, 
had run to the edge of another canon, into which they 
flew at the first appearance of the sportsman, and began 
the ascent from below on the opposite side, leaving the 
hunter gazing at them across the great gulf that rolled be- 
tween. If there is another species of game bird more tan- 
talizing and vexatious in its manners, and more utterly 
lost to all the finer feelings that should compel it to con- 
form to the recognized rules that govern field sports, 
I happily do not know of it, and have no wish to meet 
with it, if existing. 

This species is dependent upon water, never going far 
away from brook or spring, and its presence is a pretty 
sure indication that a supply of the necessary fluid is near 
at hand. Gambel's Quail is generally very abundant 
in the localities it frequents, and the coveys of trim, 
gay-looking birds are seen daily running about chas- 
ing insects, dusting themselves in the roads or sandy 
spots, and uttering all the while a soft low qucet or woeet. 
When alarmed, they commence to run, following some 
leader in outstretched line, or else in bunches when each 
looks out for himself, dodging behind every bush and 
stone, and generally striving to reach some dense thicket, 
or some rocky hillside up which they climb with surpris- 
ing rapidity. It is, at first, almost impossible to make 
them take wing, and they will only fly when compelled to 
do so by their pursuer appearing right among them, 



64 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

and then they proceed but a short distance before alight- 
ing, and commence to run again. If the ground per- 
mits the covey to be followed rapidly and continuously, 
and the birds find that running is of no avail, they can 
then be flushed, and they fly swiftly, generally on a level 
about six or eight feet above the ground, but in a curving 
direction, not straight forward for any distance, and if 
the covey becomes well scattered the birds will some- 
times lie well and flush singly; but this is exceptional, 
and a state of affairs only arrived at by a long, persistent, 
and fatiguing pursuit. I imagine that most of the birds 
that are obtained by the gun are shot upon the ground. 
Very unsportmanlike, but after one learns their tricks 
and their manners the natural feeling of denunciation 
against such a practice that is possessed by all lovers of 
dog and gun, somehow does not seem to be so easily 
aroused in those who have followed these birds for food 
or recreation. If, however, the sportsman fails to obtain 
either of these, there is one thing he does get without 
stint — exercise. 

Gambel's Partridge bears well great extremes of tem- 
perature and is apparently quite as comfortable where 
the thermometer indicates ioo° in the shade, as in 
the keen, rarefied air that blows around the mountain 
tops at an elevation of 8000 or 9000 feet. When the 
heat is as great as that mentioned above, this species 
seeks the bottoms of the canons, or the banks of the 
creeks, and keeps in the shade of the dense thickets 
usually found in such situations, or, as is frequently 
the case, perches in the trees. This custom is habitual 
to it, for it is quite an arboreal bird, taking refuge 
on the branches of trees or bushes if suddenly 
alarmed, or when the members of a flock become scat- 
tered after having been compelled to take wing. The 



GAMBELS PARTRIDGE. 65 

mating season commences quite early in the spring, say 
the month of April, and the male presents a very hand- 
some appearance as with erect body, dignified move- 
ments, puffed-out feathers and trailing, trembling wings, 
he moves sedately before the gaze of his shy lady-love. 
She is a modestly attired little body, similar, but still quite 
different in dress to her lord, lacking the strongly con- 
trasting colors upon the head, and the great black patch 
on the belly. The glossy, jet black, graceful plume of 
many feathers that decorates the head of the male, open- 
ing and closing, as his frequent changes of feelings exert 
their influence, is in the female reduced to small propor- 
tions, and dusky in hue. 

The nest is simply a hollow scratched out in the soil, 
sometimes lined with grass or leaves, and concealed 
from view by tall grass, or by some overhanging bush, 
or else hidden away amid the vegetation that springs up 
in the dry beds of the creeks. In fact any spot that will 
afford the necessary protection and concealment is taken 
advantage of, and the eggs removed from the view of 
prying enemies. Doubtless, however, many are taken by 
reptiles such as snakes of various kinds, and even the Gila 
Monster has been known to have made a meal on the 
eggs of this species. The usual number found in a nest is 
from twelve to fifteen; and these have a ground color 
varying from a creamy white to a pale buff, irregularly 
spotted and blotched with dark seal, sometimes almost 
blackish, brown, drab, or rufous, all suffused with a 
peculiar purplish bloom. Occasionally a nest is found 
placed in a tree, or cactus, a few feet from the ground, 
the bird, doubtless, having lost the eggs previously laid, 
had sought a more secure refuge from her terrestrial foes. 
The period of incubation extends to about four weeks, 
and probably two broods are raised in a season. The 



66 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

birds do not seem to have any regular time to commence 
laying, some being much later than others, and on this 
account, and the number of broods raised, young or half- 
grown birds are met with nearly throughout the entire 
summer. The pretty little downy chicks run as soon as 
hatched, and soon become exceedingly expert in hiding, 
which they are quick to do at the warning chirp of the 
mother, squatting close to the ground and remaining 
absolutely motionless, or crawling under leaves, or any 
shelter that is available. Danger past, at a cluck from 
the anxious mother, who all the time has probably been 
crouching near by, watching her brood, the chicks gather 
around her, and are led to a more retired and secure 
locality. When able to use their wings and fly with some 
degree of freedom, the young take refuge in the trees 
and perch on the branches, but as they grow older the 
one particular habit they have inherited prevails over all 
the rest, and their legs are depended upon for escape 
more than upon any other means at their disposal, and 
they run with considerable swiftness, only using the 
wings as the last resort. 

GambeFs Partridge has many enemies, foremost 
among which is man, both white and red, who destroys 
vast numbers both with gun and snares of various in- 
genuity. Hawks, wolves, foxes, and other predatory 
animals kill numbers, and doubtless many fall a prey to 
rattlesnakes and other reptiles. Still if the species only 
had to combat with its natural enemies, it would probably 
be able to maintain itself in undiminished numbers, but 
whenever man, especially Caucasian man, takes a hand 
in destroying, the time of diminution and final extinction 
of any wild creature is near at hand. 

This Partridge has a number of calls, which it utters 
at various times and on especial occasions, some of which 



GAME ELS PARTRIDGE. 67 

are very difficult to represent on paper. At the com- 
mencement of the pairing season it gives voice to a clear, 
ringing note, usually uttered from some slight eminence, 
which has been compared to the syllables yuk-kde-ja 
by Captain Bendire and killink by Dr. Coues, each 
syllable distinctly uttered and the last two somewhat 
lengthened. These notes strike each hearer so differ- 
ently that it is impossible to write them down and convey 
to each the impression he has received. To me the three- 
syllabled word given above more clearly describes the 
note as it was heard by me, but doubtless many others 
would recognize it better by the word of two syllables as 
given by Dr. Coues. This note, or cry, is equivalent to 
the Bob White of our Northern bird. The alarm note is 
well indicated by Captain Bendire as craer, craer, fre- 
quently repeated; a rasping, harsh sound, in uttering 
which many members of a covey join. At other times, 
when undisturbed, a soft pcct is heard, followed on 
the slightest alarm by a sharp quit, succeeded by the 
pattering of little feet upon the dry leaves as the covey 
hurries away. It is a gentle, beautiful little creature, and 
without Gambel's Partridge, with all its unsportsmanlike 
ways, many an arid and rock-strewn district would be 
deprived of its chief attraction. 

LOPHORTYX GAM BELL 

Geographical Distribution. — Western Texas, New Mexico, and 
Arizona to San Bernardino County, California. , Also in Southern 
Utah and Nevada, and Northwestern Mexico. 

Adult Male. — Top of head and nape, bright chestnut; forehead, 
black, interspersed with grayish above the bill, and crossed by a 
narrow white line between the eyes; a white stripe from behind 
the eye to back of ear-coverts, bordered above with black; chin, 
throat, and side of face beneath the eyes, black, bordered all 



68 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

around with white; back and sides of neck, lead color, each 
feather narrowly bordered with brownish black; entire upper 
parts, grayish blue, darkest on upper tail-coverts, where the 
feathers are faintly margined with white; tail, pale blue; wings 
like the back, but with a brownish tinge; the inner webs of the 
tertials broadly margined with white, and the outer webs of those 
nearest the primaries narrowly margined with yellowish white, 
forming a horizontal bar when the wing is closed; primaries, 
brown, grayish on the outer webs; upper part of breast, pale 
blue; lower part to abdomen, bright buff; flanks, dark chestnut, 
with a conspicuous white stripe along the shaft; abdomen, black, 
flanked by bright buff feathers, with a white stripe in the center, 
bordered with chestnut; vent and under tail-coverts, pale buff 
with grayish brown central stripe tinged with chestnut ; an up- 
right plume composed of five or six black feathers, curving for- 
ward, and the webs turned backward, each overlapping the one 
behind, rises from the forehead, sometimes bending over the 
bill; bill, black; feet and legs, horn color. Total length, jo inches; 
wings, 4f ; tail, 4-^; bill, -£; legs, i£. 

Adult Female. — Differs from the male in having the upper 
parts tinged with olive-green; top of head, olive-brown; throat, 
dark buff, streaked with bluish gray; upper part of breast, gray- 
ish blue, rest of under parts pale buff, the feathers narrowly 
margined with blackish chestnut; flanks, chestnut with central 
white stripe ; under tail-coverts, bronzy brown, margined with 
pale buff; wings as in the male, the tertials less conspicuously 
margined with white; tail, purplish blue; a short brownish black 
bunch of feathers rises frc?m top of head, but does not bend for- 
ward; bill, black; legs and feet, horn color. Total length, 9! 
inches; wing, 4f, tail, 4i; bill, \; legs, i£. 




13, Massena Partridge. 



MASSENA PARTRIDGE. 

[/ NOWN in the territories it frequents within our bor- 
ders as the Black, Black-bellied, and Fool Quail, the 
Massena Partridge is the most fantastically colored of all 
the family to which it belongs, with a head striped and 
marked like that of the clown in a pantomime. It is 
however, a very handsome bird, though bizarre in its 
pattern of coloration, and would attract attention wher- 
ever seen. It ranges in more or less abundance from 
western Texas in the vicinity of San Antonio, through 
New Mexico, and into Arizona as far as Fort Whipple, 
which is about its western limit. It has been observed 
in the upper Rio Grande valley near Taos, and south of 
our limits inhabits northwestern Mexico, ranging upon 
the mountains at varying elevations of from 4000 
to over 9000 feet. It seems to be more of a bird of the 
hills than are most of the other species of Partridge, 
and prefers the high mesas and valleys that lead up 
into the lofty mountain ranges. In the United States 
I do not think this Partridge can be called abundant 
anywhere, and the localities in which it is found are 
apparently restricted; whether or not on account of some 
especial food it subsists upon I am unable to say. When 
met with it is generally in small bunches, as if composed 
of one family, and the birds are extremely gentle and 
confiding, hardly moving out of the way of either man 
or beast. At times this species seems to be entirely 
insensible to fear, and when approached suddenly, either 
squats down on the ground or walks a few steps to one 

69 



7o GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

side, sometimes merely standing perfectly still and re- 
garding the intruder with a glance that may mean inquiry 
or curiosity. It does not run like Gambel's and other 
plumed Partridges, but if wishing to escape, and this 
resolution is not often taken without considerable delib- 
eration, a covey will rise with a whir and fly very rapidly 
in a direct line; usually the birds uttering a clucking 
note as they speed along. As a rule, they do not fly 
very far, but scatter and remain in the place where they 
alight, and can then be flushed singly. In this respect 
their habits are far superior from a sportsman's point of 
view to those of the other Partridges that dwell in the 
same countries. From its gentle disposition and apparent 
unwillingness to move, frequently when almost trodden 
upon, this bird has gained the sobriquet of " Fool Quail," 
and it has often been killed with a stick in the hands of 
its pursuer. It may be that it is more numerous in 
a locality than indications would warrant the supposition, 
for, on account of its habit of crouching or remaining 
motionless, a covey could easily escape unnoticed in the 
grass, although the passer-by was but a very short dis- 
tance away. 

The Massena Partridge is fond of dusting itself in the 
roads if there are any, or in sandy places, and when so 
occupied does not resort to cover until closely ap- 
proached. In summer they ascend high upon the moun- 
tains, coming down, when snow begins to fall, to low 
altitudes, and occasionally the birds breed at as lofty 
an elevation as 7000 feet. Although I have never seen 
the two species actually together, yet I have known 
the Massena and Gambel's Partridge to occupy the same 
district in winter, and it is not an unusual thing in New 
Mexico to obtain both species in one afternoon by the 
same gun. The reason that the Fool Quail is so con- 



MASSENA PARTRIDGE. 7 1 

fiding is probably that the waste places it frequents are 
not much resorted to by man, and hence its acquaintance 
with its chief enemy and destroyer has been of too 
limited a character for it to acquire that shy and wild dis- 
position a full knowledge of the ways and power of the 
human biped always brings to every creature of the 
woods and plains. It may be that in some places where 
the Massena Partridge has been much hunted that it 
is as wild and wary as are the other species of this group, 
but wherever I have seen it, the birds have always pos- 
sessed the gentle disposition already mentioned. So 
far as I am aware it never goes in large flocks, but is 
met with in small companies, and not infrequently three 
or four birds only are seen together. It appears to be 
as altogether different in its ways from other Partridges 
as it is from them in general appearance. It is a plump 
little bird, and has a manner of walking with a rounded 
back and humped up body, and exhibits very little of 
the elegance of form and gracefulness of carriage so char- 
acteristic of Gambel's and the California Partridge, or 
even the Blue Quail. But its fantastically colored head, 
flanks dotted like the plumage of a guinea fowl, and short, 
stumpy tail give to it an appearance peculiarly its own 
and in no way approached by any other Partridge. The 
nest is a hollow scratched out of the soil, lined with 
grass, and hidden by the grass growing around, or else 
placed under a bush or some dead limb lying near the 
ground, surrounded by grass. The eggs are pure white, 
very glossy, and about ten in number. 

When there are any grain fields in the vicinity of its 
habitat this Partridge will pick up the kernels lying 
about, but its chief food, at least in certain localities, 
seems to be small bulbous roots, and perhaps the re- 
stricted area in which these are found may in a measure 



7 2 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

account for the bird's apparently scattered dispersion 
in the districts it frequents. Its indolent ways would 
seem to offer it a prey to any active animal, and doubt- 
less it is easily secured by Hawks, Owls, and four-footed 
depredators always on the watch for a toothsome morsel. 
In some localities where, not long since, it was fairly 
abundant, as in New Mexico in the vicinity of the Gila 
River and around Silver City, it has now become scarce, 
as it proved to be such an easy victim that the coveys 
were soon decimated or quite exterminated, and unless its 
disposition becomes greatly changed and it learns how 
more effectually to protect itself from its enemies, it will 
probably soon cease to exist after its habitats have been 
invaded by those who shoot either for pleasure or profit. 

CRYTONYX MONTEZUMA. 

Geographical Distribution. — Western Texas, New Mexico, and 
Arizona. Table-lands of Mexico. 

Adutt Male.— Forehead, black; with white stripe passing 
upward from nostril; top of head, pale brown, barred with black; 
occiput, richer brown, unmarked, feathers forming a short thick 
crest; rest of head, white, with a plumbeous stripe from angle 
of mouth, extending in a curved line to beneath the ears, meet- 
ing a broader line that crosses it at right angles, and extends 
from above ears to the lower margin of the black throat; a 
small triangular curved black patch beneath the eye; the 
brown color of head is separated from the white by a nar- 
row black line ; the white, on side, and fore-neck, is margined 
beneath by a rather broad black band ; upper parts, reddish 
brown, barred with black, and streaked with buff; secondaries, 
pale purplish gray, spotted with black; primaries, dark brown, 
the outer webs spotted with white; sides of breast and flanks, 
dark plumbeous, almost black, spotted with white; line through 
middle of breast, and the belly, dark chestnut; rest of under 
parts and thighs, velvety black; maxilla, black; mandible, black, 
with yellowish spot on the side. Total length, 8f inches; wing, 
5; tail, i\\ tarsus, i|; bill, along culmen, -§-. 



MASSENA PARTRIDGE. 73 

Adult Fe?nale. — General color, light pinkish cinnamon, upper 
parts barred with black, more inclined to blotches, the bars fre- 
quently close together in places, and streaked with buff; head, 
without black or white stripes, barred on top and on crest with 
black; throat, pinky white; a few black spots on flanks, and 
lower parts of chest; abdomen and anal region, buff; secondaries, 
brownish black, barred with pale cinnamon; primaries, dark 
brown, spotted with white on outer webs; maxilla, black; mandi- 
ble, pale horn color; claws, horn color. Total length, 8f inches; 
wing, 5; tail, i\; tarsus, i^. bill, along culmen, f. 

Young, about Half Grown. — Similar on upper parts to the 
female; throat and chin, pure white; under parts, brownish 
white, spotted with blackish brown, and streaked with buffy 
white; some black feathers appearing among the brown on the 
anal region; top of head rich brown, barred with black, and 
streaked with buffy white along the shaft ; wings, pinkish cinna- 
mon, streaked with white, and occasional blackish bars across 
the feathers; primaries, as in the adult. Bill, light horn color. 

Downy Young. — Head, pale brown; becoming gradually 
whitish on the throat, the occiput with a broad patch of chest- 
nut; a blackish streak behind the eye; upper parts rusty brown- 
ish, indistinctly spotted with dusky, the rump bordered along 
each side by a whitish stripe ; lower parts nearly uniform dull 
white. — Ridgway. 



RUFFED GROUSE. 

HP HIS well-known game bird, the Birch Partridge of 
certain portions of the British Provinces, Partridge 
of the Northern Atlantic States, and Pheasant of Virginia 
and the more Southern States, is distributed throughout 
the eastern portion of the Union from Massachusetts 
to Georgia and westward in the wooded regions of Ohio, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota to the Dakotas. 
North of Massachusetts it intergrades with its subspecies, 
the Canadian Ruffed Grouse, and it is not always an 
easy task to decide as to which form specimens obtained 
within this range really belong. In the Southeastern 
States it is confined mainly to the mountainous parts, 
rarely descending into the valleys or lowlands. 

The habits of this fine bird are pretty well known by 
all lovers of dog and gun, and its wary nature, exceeding 
cunning, and general ability to take very excellent care 
of itself cause it to be regarded as one of the most thor- 
oughly game members of the feathered race. The male 
Grouse drums at all times in the year: in the spring 
as a defiance to his rivals or as a call to the hens to come 
and admire him as he struts in magnificent form upon 
his chosen log; and in summer and autumn, or even 
winter, as an indication of his lusty vigor and general 
satisfaction with himself. The sound heard on these 
occasions is like a deep muffled roll of a drum, even 
likened by some persons to low thunder, and has a great 
ventriloquial power. It is produced solely by the wings, 
and these are not permitted to touch the body. The 



RUFFED GROUSE. . 75 

cock, mounted upon some familiar log, which he has 
probably occupied for the same purpose more than one 
season, puffs out his feathers until he appears nearly 
double the ordinary size, and with head drawn backwards, 
tail fully expanded and spread over his back, the tufts 
on either side of the neck raised and pushed forward, and 
wings trailing on the bark, moves with a mincing, affected 
gait along the fallen tree. Suddenly he throws his body 
forward and stretches out his neck, and commences to 
beat the air with his wings, but does not touch his flanks. 
The beats are rather slow and spasmodic at first, and 
then the strokes quicken, growing faster and faster every 
moment, until the wings disappear, leaving to the eye 
nothing but a rufous blur in their place. The muffled 
tone, low at first, swells with the increased rapidity of the 
beats until, in a loud, solemn roll, it is borne through 
the neighboring woods. Suddenly the wings are stilled, 
the roll ceases, and the noble bird raises himself erect 
and listens intently, as if anticipating a reply; but as all 
is quiet and the woods give forth no echoing sound or 
answering challenge, he begins to strut again. There 
has been no answer to the male's vigorous expression of 
challenge or invitation, but if this action just described 
was performed in the springtime it would be more than 
likely that from out the recesses of a near-by thicket 
some modest, demure hen would be watching and admir- 
ing the pompous male as he executed the fantastic move- 
ments of his haughty parade. Gaining courage at length 
she steps from out her concealment and watches the 
proud male, who, seeing the first member of his harem 
has arrived, redoubles his efforts to make himself capti- 
vating in the eyes of this fair one. Occasionally it is 
quite another visitor that comes to the trysting place, 
in the shape of a rival, and then between the lusty birds 



76 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

a desperate conflict ensues, wherein, perchance, some 
blood and many feathers are scattered upon the ground. 
Some believe that the Ruffed Grouse is not polygamous, 
but I think all the evidence we have seems to prove that 
it is, and that the male has many wives if he can get 
them. He pays no attention to the brood and is never 
seen with them, nor with the hen during the period of 
incubation, and I believe she hides her nest from him 
as well as from all her other enemies. 

This bird inhabits dense thickets, swamps, clumps of 
bushes, and similar situations affording concealment, and 
prefers a hilly country or one strictly mountainous cov- 
ered with timber, and is rarely seen in the open unless in 
the vicinity of some leafy covert. It frequents the banks 
of streams when overspread by bushes growing thickly 
together, but also is found at times in rather open woods 
with little or no undergrowth. When flushed this Grouse 
rises with a tremendous whir, which can be heard for a 
long distance and sounds not unlike a subdued roll of 
thunder, and an inexperienced sportsman is apt to be 
greatly frustrated by it and pretty sure to miss the bird, 
no matter how fair a mark it presents. The flight is 
extremely swift and powerful, and can be maintained 
for a long way, and the bird exhibits wonderful dexterity 
in threading the tangled brakes and by the unnumbered 
trees and branches without touching any in his headlong 
course. No little cunning is displayed also, that shows 
the bird is wide-awake and anxious to provide for its 
own safety, for as soon as it is on the wing it places some 
tree or bush between it and its pursuer and keeps on, 
as it flies, multiplying the obstacles for a successful shot. 
It lies well to the dog, but when it flushes always darts 
away from the side opposite to the sportsman, no matter 
how advantageously he may think he has chosen his 



RUFFED GROUSE. 77 

position, and puts the first tree between the gun and its 
body. Usually not many adult birds are found together, 
five or six perhaps, rarely more, and they never rise all 
at once, but two or possibly three together, followed by 
the others singly. As the danger to themselves ap- 
proaches nearer, occasionally a bird will lie so close that 
it will permit the sportsman to pass it, and then suddenly 
bursts away from behind him. I have never noticed any 
apparent retention of the scent by this bird after alight- 
ing, as is the case with Bob White, although I must 
acknowledge that there have been times when, after care- 
fully marking some spot where a Grouse was seen to 
alight, it was impossible to find the bird, even after the 
ground had been thoroughly gone over by good dogs. 
Where they go to on such occasions is a mystery 
which, however, only increases our admiration for their 
cleverness. 

The nest of the Ruffed Grouse is merely a hollow 
scratched in the ground, usually in well-concealed spots, 
beneath some bush or log, or in a dense thicket, along- 
side some overhanging rock, or in the tangled top of 
some fallen tree or underbrush that lies matted together 
in a confused mass several feet deep. Again it is some- 
times placed in quite open situations without any attempt 
at concealment whatever, showing a trusting and confid- 
ing disposition rarely found in this bird unless in districts 
where it is Tittle or never disturbed. The hollow is lined 
with grass, leaves, needles from the pine tree, and similar 
materials, distributed in a rather careless way, and, on 
an average, perhaps ten eggs are deposited, of varying 
shades of buff dotted with different sized spots of a pale 
reddish brown color. Incubation commences about the 
beginning of May and lasts, generally, from three to four 
weeks, the last being more nearly the correct time. The 



78 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

hen, neglected by the male, who is never seen near the 
nest, is a very close sitter, and only leaves her eggs when 
danger to herself is imminent, and even then declines 
to go away to any distance, but loiters in the vicinity, 
watching every movement of her enemy and returning 
to her treasures ait the first opportunity, even at times 
taking the chances of being captured rather than leave 
her charge too long uncared for. 

As soon as they have broken through the shell the 
young run about, comical little brown tufts of down, and 
follow the mother, who teaches them to feed on insects 
and worms, and it requires but little instruction before 
they become adepts and, with much seeming curiosity, 
try every object they meet with as if testing its edibility. 
Their little wings are too feeble to bear them up, and 
to escape from danger, which is indicated by the warning 
shrill note of the hen, they skillfully hide under any 
favorable object, or squat and remain motionless, and 
so well do they harmonize with the color of the ground 
or dead leaves that it is quite impossible to distinguish 
them without a diligent search. At night the .mother 
gathers them under her and covers them with her wings 
in the manner of the domestic fowl, and protects them 
from the dew and rain, for a wetting is a serious matter 
to the chicks and is usually fatal. When about half 
grown they all roost on trees, in which the young are 
sure to take refuge if alarmed; but once perched on the 
branches they seem to consider themselves as quite re- 
moved from all danger, remaining motionless and gazing 
earnestly at the intruder on their haunts. This must be 
the result of an inherited instinct that teaches them to flee 
from their ground enemies, from whom they are usually 
safe when once among the branches of a tree, but why 
there should not be a similar instinct to bid them beware 



RUFFED GROUSE. 79 

of enemies of the air, such as Hawks and Owls, it is diffi- 
cult to explain, unless it is on the principle of doing one 
thing at a time, if it is to be done well. The adult Ruffed 
Grouse feeds on various kinds of nuts, acorns, all sorts 
of berries in their season (some of them even of the 
poisonous kind, such as the sumach), and wild grapes, 
and, when these fail, eats the foliage of many plants, such 
as wintergreen, buttercup, partridge berry, etc. In the 
winter the food consists mainly of buds of the apple, the 
two birches, and other trees. 

The males of this species keep apart after the breeding 
season is over, joining the coveys toward winter. This 
species bears the cold well, its feathered coat, carried 
down the leg to the heel, affording ample protection 
against the seventy of the weather. When the snow 
covers the ground, or during a snowstorm, this bird is 
in the habit of diving headlong into the drifts toward 
evening, where it remains frequently entirely covered up, 
warm and snug, during the night, and flying out again 
at daybreak. But if during the night a crust should 
form upon the snow the poor Grouse is imprisoned and 
frequently dies of hunger, as escape is impossible unless 
a thaw speedily comes. 

It9 flesh, as is well known, is white and tender, but 
in the late fall or winter becomes very bitter occasionally, 
on account of the bird having fed on the leaves of the 
alder, and to many persons is then quite poisonous. In 
spite of the persistency with which this Grouse is hunted, 
and the vast number yearly taken in snares, it is still 
quite plentiful in many parts of its dipersion, anid it 
would be sad indeed if unbridled persecution and 
avarice should ever cause its extermination, for then 
would disappear one of the noblest game birds known 
in our land. 



8o GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



BON ASA UM BELL US. 

Geographical Distribution. — Eastern United States and South- 
ern Canada, from Massachusetts to Northern Georgia; Missis- 
sippi and Arkansas, and westward to the Dakotas. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts varied with yellowish brown and 
gray, barred on head, neck, upper part of back and wings, with 
black and rufous; lower part of back and rump gray, interspersed 
with dark red, and ovate spots of pale buff, surrounded with 
black; conspicuous, rather broad, streaks of buffy white on scapu- 
lars and wing-coverts; primaries, grayish brown, outer webs 
barred with ivory white; upper tail-coverts, gray, mottled, and 
barred, with black; tufts of broad, lengthened feathers on either 
side of neck, black, tipped with light brown and metallic green ; 
throat, buff, faintly barred with brown; lower parts, buff on the 
chest, white on remaining parts, barred with brown, darkest and 
most conspicuous on the flanks, and just beneath the throat; 
under tail-coverts, buff, barred with blackish and with a V-shaped 
white mark at tip; tail, gray or yellowish brown; sometimes 
rusty, mottled with black, and crossed by irregular buff bands, 
bordered above by black, and a broad, subterminal black band 
bordered above and below, with gray, mottled with black, the 
upper gray bar bordered above with a narrow black bar; legs, 
feathered to middle of tarsus; maxilla, black; mandible, horn 
color. Total length, about 16 inches; wing, 7^; tail, 6£. 

Adult Female. — Not to be distinguished from the male, save 
she is slightly smaller, and has either very small neck tufts or 
none at all. 

Downy Young. — Upper parts, chestnut, darkest on front and 
top of head; rest of plumage, light buff, darkest on sides of 
head, with a conspicuous black line from back of eyes, across 
ear-coverts; bill, pale yellowish. 




15- Oregon, or Sabine's Ruffed Grouse. 



OREGON OR SABINE'S GROUSE. 

'"PHIS is the handsomest member of the genus which 
includes the Ruffed Grouse of America. It is found 
on the mountains between the Coast Range and the 
Pacific, from northern British Columbia to California. 
Wherever its habitat approaches or overlaps that of an- 
other member of the genus it intergrades with it, and 
breeds wherever found. It is a beautiful bird, its rich 
red plumage relieved by black markings, and the orange, 
red, black, and white under tail-coverts render it a very 
attractive object, alive or dead. It is very plentiful in 
certain parts of British Columbia, and it is difficult to 
find a more striking object than this bird as it walks 
sedately before you, flipping out, with quick repeated 
jerks, the feathers of the tail, occasionally spreading it 
out to the fullest extent, and elevating and depressing 
the crest of lengthened feathers on the head. 

Great numbers are killed by the Indians, mostly 
snared, and brought into the towns and cities lying along 
the Fraser and other rivers, and to Vancouver Island. 
Its habits are like those of the Ruffed Grouse, and the 
males drum from some fallen log, and fight furiously 
in the pairing season, as has already been described. 
If the season is mild they begin to drum in certain locali- 
ties on the Pacific Coast in January or February, and 
frequently at night. Whenever I have heard this solemn 
roll after dark, which then has a peculiar weird sound, 
I wondered at the bird's willingness to disclose its posi- 
tion at an hour when many of its most active enemies 



82 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

were abroad and searching for just such a toothsome 
morsel as a fat Grouse, and I pictured to myself his 
appearance, as, holding an evening reception, he dis- 
played himself to the admiring gaze cf his hens, as in 
all the pride of conscious power and possession he 
strutted about in the moonlight upon his favorite log. 
Well for him that his rolling call did not bring some 
prowling Owl gliding on swift and noiseless wing, or 
stealthy, keen-scented fox to sweep him out of the scene 
and life together. The males fight like gamecocks, with 
lowered head and outstretched necks, the feathers 
ruffled and standing out in all directions. I doubt if 
these battles ever terminate fatally to either combatant, 
the weaker giving way to his conqueror and taking 
refuge in flight, recuperating his energies and both his 
wounded body and spirit in the quiet retirement of the 
deeper woods. 

Sabine's Grouse is never found in large flocks, but 
each family keeps by itself, and they feed upon all kinds 
of seeds, insects, berries, nuts, leaves, and buds, and the 
flesh is white and palatable save in the winter, when it 
is often bitter, occasionally flavored with turpentine from 
eating the buds of the fir tree. Nidification takes place 
from April to June, the time somewhat depending on the 
locality, and the eggs range from six to ten, perhaps 
occasionally exceeding the latter number. They re- 
semble those of other Ruffed Grouse and vary in a simi- 
lar manner, and the nest is the usual cavity in the 
ground, lined with almost anything lying about, such as 
dead leaves and grass, or needles of the spruce or pine. 

It is a large bird, and possesses all the game qualities 
of its race, but from the localities it frequents can be 
rarely hunted with well-broken dogs satisfactorily. 



OREGON OR SABINE'S GROUSE. %3 



BONA S A UM BELL US SAB INI. 

Geographical Distribution. — Coast range of mountains from 
Northern British Columbia to California. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts, mostly dark, rusty chestnut, 
mingled with black blotches and mottling; rump and upper tail- 
coverts inclined to gray in some specimens; feathers of wings 
have a central streak of yellowish white; flanks, rusty, barred 
with black; tail, deep rust color, barred irregularly, with black, 
tipped with gray, and having a subterminal black band, above 
which is another bar of gray; under tail-coverts, orange, barred 
with black and V-shaped white mark at tip; feathers of thighs 
and tarsus, rusty. Total length, about 17^ inches; wings, 7^; 
tail, 6^. 

Adult Female. — Resembles the male. 



CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE. 

'"PHIS bird, a subspecific form of the Ruffed Grouse, 
ranges in the northern half of Maine, through- 
out Canada as far west as the New Caledonia district 
in British Columbia, and is also found in northern 
Idaho, Oregon, and Washington on the eastern slopes 
of the Cascade Range, but does not enter the coast 
districts. It is very numerous in the thick forests 
that still cover a large portion of the Dominion of 
Canada, and is usually quite tame and confiding in dis- 
position. When a covey or single bird is met with, fly- 
ing is rarely resorted to, at least at first; the Grouse 
either walking perhaps a little more rapidly in front or 
to one side, or else they mount upon the lower branches 
of a tree close at hand and, motionless, gaze at the in- 
truder. If a number have perched on the branches of 
different trees, frequently the majority can be shot before 
the survivors take alarm and fly deeper into the forest. 
The usual way of hunting them in these woods is to go 
with a little dog, which, striking the scent of a Grouse, 
follows it up until the bird is flushed, and flies usually 
immediately to a tree, at the foot of which the dog 
barks frantically, jumping against the trunk, and in 
many ways exhibiting the excitement under which he 
labors at seeing the most desired one so near and yet 
so far. The attention of the Grouse is entirely taken up 
with the antics and noise of the dog, and pays no heed 
to the approach of her more formidable and deadly 
enemy, the sportsman, who at short distance, with either 

8 4 




16. Canadian Ruffed Grouse. 



CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE. 85 

shotgun or rifle — very frequently the latter is used — 
knocks the bird off the limb. Should there be other 
Grouse perched in the near vicinity the report of the 
weapon does not frighten them, and the firing is contin- 
ued until a number of birds are tossing upon the ground, 
and the remainder, at length realizing that so much noise 
means serious danger, betake themselves to more secure 
retreats. When the rifle is employed for this kind of 
shooting, it is de rigneur that the head alone should be 
cut off, and any marring of the body by the bullet is 
to be condemned, and the marksman adjudged to be 
more lacking in skill than if he had missed the bird alto- 
gether. This shooting away the head by a single ball 
is not such a difficult feat as it may seem ; for, in the first 
place, the distance between man and bird is usually quite 
short, possibly averaging not over ten yards, and the 
bird does all it can to insure a successful shot by stand- 
ing bolt upright, and, with its neck stretched to the 
fullest length, remains as if carved in stone. The habits 
of the Canadian Grouse are the same as its relative of 
the Eastern part of the United States, and the description 
of one will answer for both. On account of the wooded 
character of the country it inhabits, it is not as commonly 
shot over a dog " at point " as is the Ruffed Grouse, 
but in any favorable locality it would lie as well, flush 
and present as favorable a mark for the sportsman, and 
show as much dexterity in evading his shot, by placing 
trees between itself and the gun, as does its relative of 
more southern climes. 

Like all gallinaceous birds this Grouse rises with a 
resounding whir-r of the wings, but, as is the case with 
all the species, it can also take wing and steal away with- 
out making the slightest sound whatever. It seems to 
be almost an act of volition on the part of the bird 



86 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

whether it shall herald its departure with a burst of 
thundering sound, or omit it altogether. The noise cer- 
tainly serves for a moment to unsettle the nerves of its 
enemies, unless experienced and accustomed to its ways, 
and many a Grouse has preserved its life by the shock 
the thunder of its wings has given to the startled nerves 
of the novice in field sports. Like other members of 
the tribe this Grouse is very courageous in defending its 
young from any enemy. If its nest and eggs are dis- 
covered it usually slinks quietly away, remaining, how- 
ever, in the vicinity; but if the hen has a young brood 
with her, she is utterly forgetful of self, and rushes to 
meet either man or beast, and endeavors to lure him 
by feigned lameness and other pitiful devices away from 
the spot, sounding at the same time the warning notes 
to the young to scatter and hide. It has been known in 
its frenzied anxiety to peck at a man's trousers, as if 
its feeble efforts could compel its huge enemy to flee. 
If the intruder should happen to be a fox or other 
quadruped there is a good deal of method displayed by 
the hen in her attempts to entice him away from her 
young, and although she may flutter and flounder about 
within a few inches- of the animal's nose, she is very 
careful not to go quite near enough to be caught, but 
evades easily the desperate efforts the beast makes to 
spring upon her. And when she has succeeded in draw- 
ing her foe a sufficient distance away, she suddenly rises 
on sounding wings, and with swift flight returns to her 
brood, leaving her defeated pursuer foolishly looking 
about him and probably lamenting the loss of all earthly 
hopes and joys, in this case typified by the vanishing 
prospect of a much-desired meal. But one brood is 
raised in a season, and the period of incubation, nest, 
its composition and position, number, color, and mark- 



CANADIAN RUFFED GROUSE. 87 

ing of the eggs, all closely resemble those already de- 
scribed in the article on the Ruffed Grouse. 



BO NASA UM BELL US TOG ATA. 

Geographical Distribution. — Northern New York, and New 
England, and in Northern Idaho, Oregon, and Washington in 
the United States, and throughout the Dominion of Canada, to 
the district of New Caledonia, in British Columbia. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts grayer than in the typical style, 
the brown markings especially on lower back and rump very 
conspicuous, and the gray ovate spots rather broadly surrounded 
with black; upper tail feathers, dark bluish gray, mottled and 
barred with black; under parts hardly distinguishable from the 
typical Ruffed Grouse, though perhaps the bars on flanks are 
usually darker; tail, mostly gray, irregular^ barred, and mottled 
with black, the median feathers inclined to a yellowish brown, 
and a subterminal black band; large tufts of feathers on each 
side of neck, smoke-brown edged with metallic green. Measure- 
ments about the same as those of B. umbellus. 

Adult Female. — With the exception of the neck tufts, which 
are either wanting or very small, there is no difference observa- 
ble in the plumage of the female. While the birds found within 
the limits of distribution given above may properly be consid- 
ered as representing a well-marked race of the typical Ruffed 
Grouse, it is very doubtful if the ordinary observer would detect 
anything in their plumage to indicate that they were different 
from the more southern species, and would probably consider 
them as all of the same kind. Specimens vary considerably, and 
it is not always easy for the expert to recognize the present race ; 
knowledge of the locality from which the bird comes being often 
essential for a determination of its identity. 



GRAY RUFFED GROUSE. 

ANOTHER subspecies of the Ruffed Grouse is the 
present bird, which dwells in the central Rocky 
Mountain region, from the valley of the Yukon in 
Alaska, through British Columbia, and Idaho, Montana, 
and western Dakota south to Colorado. It possesses 
a plumage of a gray color, and is somewhat smaller 
than its relatives. Like the other Ruffed Grouse it is 
not migratory, and where it is found there it resides and 
breeds. It is fond of resorting to dense thickets and 
undergrowth that flourishes so luxuriantly along the 
mountain sides, and on the banks of streams, ascending 
at times to .the loftiest heights, having been met with 
at 10,000 feet of elevation. Its habits are similar to those 
of its relatives, and the nest and eggs resemble those of 
the species already described. 

It differs from the other Grouse of the Eastern portion 
of the United States and Canada by the uniform gray of 
the ground-color of its plumage and by its gray tail. 
When writing my monograph of the Grouse I thought 
that a good character consisted in the fact that the termi- 
nal black bar on the tail did not include the middle 
feathers, but the presence of more abundant material 
than was then obtainable proves that this supposition 
was not well founded. At best it is only a race of very 
questionable value. This bird was found abundant in 
the vicinity of Behring Straits at the head of Norton 
Sound wherever the woods occurred. It is common at 




17. Gray Ruffed Grouse. 



GRAY RUFFED GROUSE. 89 

various points on the Yukon, and feeds upon the spruce 
buds, which give a disagreeable flavor to the flesh. 



BONA S A UMBELLUS UMBELLOIDES. 

Geographical Distribution. — Rocky Mountain Region from 
Colorado, through Western Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Brit- 
ish Columbia to the Yukon in Alaska. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts, mostly gray, some chestnut and 
black markings upon the neck, upper back, and wings; pale gray 
spots upon rump, all the feathers vermiculated with black; neck 
tufts, black, with metallic green reflections; under parts, white 
and buff mixed, especially so upon the chest, crossed with brown 
bars, changing to black on the flanks; under tail-coverts, gray, 
mottled with black and tipped with white; tail, pure gray, nar- 
rowly barred and mottled with black, and a subterminal black 
band. Total length about 14! inches; wing, i\\ tail 6. 

Adult Female resembles the male, and is without neck tufts. 



DUSKY GROUSE. 

'"PHIS species and its two races are, next to the Cock- 
of-the-Plains, the largest Grouse in the United 
States. The three forms range from New Mexico in 
the south, to Sitka, Alaska, in the north, and grade into 
each other at different points of their dispersion. Various 
names, besides the one at the head of this article, such 
as Pine Hen, Blue, Pine, and Gray Grouse are applied 
to these birds, no particular one being confined to any 
especial form, but in several localities the same name is 
given to the different races. The present species, the 
Dusky Grouse of naturalists, ranges from southern 
Idaho, east to western South Dakota, and then through 
portions of Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, 
through the northern half of Arizona to the southern 
part of New Mexico. It is not found in California. It 
is essentially a bird of the high mountains, and ranges to 
the limits of timber, coming down in winter to perhaps 
an altitude of 2000 feet, and dwells mainly in the forests 
of the thick spruce and fir. Solitary in its habits it is 
frequently found alone or in small parties of perhaps half 
a dozen individuals, and is of a roving, restless nature, 
and delights in rough hillsides and mountain summits, 
frequently changing its abode. The food consists of 
leaves, berries, buds of the pines — resorting to these last 
only in winter when the snow is deep — insects of all 
kinds, especially grasshoppers, worms, and grubs. In the 
spring the male struts exactly like the Turkey Gobbler; 
puffing out his feathers, dropping the wings, spreading 

90 




1 8. Dusky Grouse. 



DUSKY GROUSE. 9 1 

and elevating the tail, and drawing the head toward the 
back, he steps gingerly along, overcome for the moment 
by the extent and force of his amatory feelings. He has 
another method also of declaring his love, which he em- 
ploys when perched in the midst of some thick fir or 
spruce. At such times he inflates a small sac, covered 
by a bare skin on either side of the neck, until it is half as 
large as an orange and something like it in color, sur- 
rounded by a fringe of white feathers; and suddenly 
exhausting the air, emits a low, booming sound having 
a strange ventriloquial power, and which can be heard for 
a singularly long distance. If met with on the ground 
this Grouse immediately takes to a tree if any are in the 
vicinity, and remains motionless on its perch, watching 
keenly every movement of its pursuer. It is very diffi- 
cult to> discover it when it is so en garde, alnd if, after 
much peering into the somber depths of the foliage 
and many contortions of the neck, one catches sight 
of the bird, it is aware of the fact at once, and plunges 
down the mountain side with a roar of wings and swift- 
ness of flight that almost always carries him away in 
safety. The speed at which the bird travels and the 
brief momentary glimpses that are afforded of his 
passing form, give but a slight chance for a successful 
shot. 

At times when there are any grain fields near its 
resorts, the Dusky Grouse will enter the stubble to pick 
up the scattered kernels, and then is often quite tame 
and unsuspicious. I do not consider it a very wild or 
shy bird, at least I have never found it so, but this 
may be because I have mostly seen it in retired locali- 
ties, in the depths of the forest, or on high mountains, 
where the bird had probably been seldom molested by 
man. When suddenly started it flies off with great 



9 2 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 

rapidity, uttering a loud, cackling note, and if there are 
several together, the noise they make at such a time is 
very considerable. The nesting season begins in May or 
June, according to the elevation at which the birds may 
be, and but one brood is raised in a season. A depres- 
sion is made in the ground by a fallen log, or beneath a 
bush, or perhaps in thick grass, or it may be right in the 
open without any concealment, and this is lined without 
much care with grass or any material that can be pressed 
down by the bird, and about eight eggs are deposited. 
Sometimes this number is greatly exceeded, and then it 
is a question whether they have not been laid by more 
than one hen. The eggs have a ground color varying 
from a creamy white to a rather deep buff, dotted, 
spotted, and sometimes blotched with chestnut or choco- 
late brown, and these markings are pretty evenly dis- 
tributed all over the shell. The female remains on the 
nest for about three weeks, when the young appear. 
The chicks are exceedingly pretty little creatures, very 
active, running as soon as they leave the shell, and are 
adepts in hiding at the first alarm. The mother appears 
to have the sole charge of their welfare, and clucks to 
them in a similar manner as does the domestic hen to 
her brood. When frightened the young scatter in every 
direction, and the old bird usually takes refuge in some 
tree. As soon as the chicks are sufficiently grown so as 
to be able to fly, they also immediately take to the trees 
if alarmed, but make no farther effort to escape, seeming 
to believe they are quite out of danger as soon as they 
have left the ground. From the habit which these 
birds have of remaining motionless on the branches 
until sometimes the entire covey is shot or killed 
with sticks, they have received the name of Fool 
hen or Fool Grouse. The flesh of this bird is white 



DUSKY GROUSE. 93 

and well-flavored, and sometimes individuals are met 
with that will weigh as much as three pounds and a half. 

DENDRAGAPUS OBSCURUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Rocky Mountains from Southern 
Idaho, Montana, and Western South Dakota to New Mexico 
and Arizona. 

Adult Male. — Forehead, dull rufous ; back of head brownish 
black, feathers tipped with rusty; in some specimens the top of 
head is all slaty gray like the back; back of neck and upper 
parts, blackish brown, vermiculated with lighter brown, and 
gray, sometimes coarsely mottled with the same, especially on 
the wings, which are occasionally blotched with black; scapulars 
streaked with white along the shafts to the tips; white space on 
sides of neck; throat, white, mottled with black; sides of head, black; 
lower parts, slate gray, mottled with brown upon the flanks, the 
feathers of which have streaks along the shafts, and terminal spots 
white; under tail-coverts, blackish brown, with subapical bar of 
gray, mottled and bordered with black and tipped with white ; 
tail, rounded, black, and tipped with a broad gray band; pri- 
maries, dark brown, outer webs and tips, mottled with gray; legs 
covered to the toes with pale brown feathers; bill, horn color. 
Total length, about 20 inches; wing, about 9^; tail, 8; tarsus, if. 
Weight, about 3 pounds. 

Adult Female. — Upper parts, mottled with black and buff, 
these frequently taking the form of bars and blotches; feathers, 
usually tipped with white; wings, slaty brown or gray, barred 
and mottled with buff, central streaks and terminal points, white ; 
primaries, dark brown; throat, mostly buff; sides and front of 
neck and chest, dark brownish gray, barred and tipped with 
buffy white, sometimes only a spot of white on the tip; rest of 
under parts, slaty gray, the flank feathers tipped with white 
and mottled with buff and black; central tail feathers, blackish 
brown barred with pale grayish brown, the bars mottled with 
blackish ; rest of tail, black, slightly mottled with gray, and a gray 
band at tip. Total length, about 17 inches; wing, 8f ; tail, 6. 



SOOTY GROUSE. 

'"PHIS race of the last species ranges through the 
northern Rocky Mountains from the southern Sierra 
Nevada in California to northern Alaska in the Coast 
Range. Like the Dusky Grouse the present bird is a 
mountain dweller and is found at altitudes of 9000 feet, 
descending in winter 6000 or 7000 feet lower. It is much 
darker than the Dusky Grouse and has a narrower band 
on the tail, while the female has a dark rusty wash on the 
upper parts of her plumage. In its habits it does not 
differ from the preceding species and haunts the dense 
spruce and fir forests, taking refuge in the dark foliage of 
the trees and remaining motionless. I have met with this 
bird on the very summit of the mountains in the Coast 
Range, above the forest, and where the only covering 
was stunted trees and small clumps of bushes. I was 
riding along such a place one morning, my horse picking 
his way carefully over the rocks and broken ground and 
winding in and out among the low trees and bushes that 
stood plentifully about, when I saw a covey of about 
eight individuals of this Grouse upon the ground a short 
distance in front of me. Although they saw me and my 
horse very well, and must have heard his iron shoes 
striking the stones long before we came into view, they 
were not at all alarmed but continued to feed, running 
about without the least concern. Dismounting, I ad- 
vanced toward them, when they drew together and 
looked at me in a wondering kind of a way, and one or 
two flew up into a low tree that was near by, but no effort 

94 




ig. Sooty Grouse. 



SOOTY GROUSE. 95 

was made to escape. Drawing nearer, I fired at one as 
he rose, when the rest took wing but flew only a short 
distance before alighting, and then began to run. They 
took wing again as I advanced, when I secured two more, 
and with little trouble and being obliged to walk but a 
short distance I shot all but one, and he, finding the place 
altogether unhealthy, flew down the mountain side, after 
I had fired several times at his companions, and escaped. 
This was in the month of September, but snow had not 
yet fallen, and berries of various kinds were plentiful on 
the bushes and vines, affording ample food for the birds. 
They were fat and in fine condition, and made a most 
acceptable addition to our camp larder. 

In the thick firs it is practically impossible to see these 
birds, as they not only remain motionless, often squatting 
close to the limb or to the trunk itself, but their dark, 
sooty plumage helps very much to conceal them; so, if 
one's eyes do light upon a bird, it is usually deemed to be 
only a knot or a bunch of some kind attached to the limb 
or trunk. The males have the same habit in the spring, as 
that already described in the article on the Dusky Grouse, 
of blowing up the yellow sac on the side of the neck, and 
emitting a sound that is heard for a considerable dis- 
tance, a sort of boom, and from its ventriloquial powers, 
it is impossible to determine whence it comes, or where 
the bird is located. At such times, could you catch 
a glimpse of the performer he would present a curious 
appearance, for his neck would be puffed out until it 
seemed as large as his body, or as if he was suffering 
from a severe attack of the goiter, while the head, 
apparently reduced in dimensions, would be perched 
upon these yellow globes, and the bright eyes, half closed 
from the pressure below them, would be surmounted by 
a conspicuous semicircle of brilliant orange. The air 



96 • GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

exhausted in the globes, he would resume for a brief 
space his normal shape, although the skin on the neck 
would seem flabby and wrinkled, when he would again 
proceed to inflate himself out of shape. The courting 
season over these sacs shrink entirely away, and the 
bare place is covered over by the feathers of the neck. 

The time of love-making, period of nesting, style, and 
position of the nest, and number and color of the eggs, 
are almost precisely the same as has been described in 
the article on the Dusky Grouse. In fact there could 
not well be any difference of consequence between birds 
so closely related as are the above-named species and the 
present race, for practically they are the same bird; the 
probable greater amount of moisture in the districts in- 
habited by the Sooty Grouse causes its plumage to 
assume a darker, more somber hue; a fact known to 
occur in the coloring of all animals which dwell in coun- 
tries visited by a great amount of rainfall. A belief is 
entertained among some that these Grouse remain in a 
somnolent state during the winter, regaining their 
activity in the spring; not like the old tale of the swal- 
lows, that they buried themselves in the mud, but that 
they went to sleep somewhere in the tree tops — hiber- 
nated in fact among the obscure depths of the firs and 
spruce. No doubt they do pass much of the winter amid 
the thick foliage of these trees, but the birds are far from 
being asleep, though for hours during the severe weather 
they may remain immovable. At such times the snow 
is usually very deep, and all food obtainable from the 
ground is hidden from sight, and the Grouse subsist on 
the buds and leaves of the trees amid which they have 
taken refuge, and have very little occasion to come from 
out their chosen resorts. Even the water they may need 
can be obtained from the snow lying on the branches. 






SOOTY GROUSE. 97 

In size this bird equals the Dusky Grouse and like its 
relative does not migrate, unless ascending and descend- 
ing lofty mountains at certain periods of the year can be 
called migrating, and breeds wherever found. 



DENDRAGAPUS OBSCURUS FULIGINOSUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Coast Range of Mountains from 
California eastward to Nevada, Western Idaho to Northern 
Alaska. 

Adult Male. — Above, brownish black, lighter upon the back 
of neck, which is more of a slate color, and mottled, especially 
upon the wings, about the tips of the feathers, with brown and 
pale gray; rump and upper tail-coverts, mottled also with the 
same; no white central streaks on the scapulars, nor any very 
distinct white space on the side of neck; throat and sides of face, 
usually black, with a few small white spots on the former; breast 
sooty black, grading into very dark slate on rest of under parts; 
under tail-coverts, black, with white tip and a gray subapical bar 
mottled with black; tail, black, with a dark gray band at tip. 
Total length, about 21 inches; wing, g|; tail 8. 

Adult Female. — Resembles the female of D. obscurus, but is 
much darker in hue, with a good deal of dark rusty on the upper 
parts. 



RICHARDSON'S GROUSE. 

^"T HIS bird, which is another race of the Dusky Grouse, 
inhabits the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains 
from central Montana northward, through the interior 
of British North America, and is known as Richardson's 
Grouse. It is almost precisely similar in plumage to the 
Dusky Grouse, but lacks the distinct gray band on the 
tip of the tail, or has it very slightly indicated. The tail 
seems to be more square at the tip, and the feathers are 
much broader. Wherever its habitat overlaps that of 
either of its relatives, such as in Wyoming and Idaho, the 
present bird intergrades with them. It inhabits the same 
kind of country, high mountains, and breeds wherever 
found in spring, and passes much of the autumn in the 
bottoms, along creeks where the cover is plenty and 
berries abundant. 

This Grouse builds a nest similar to its relatives, if 
scraping a slight hollow in the ground can be called 
building, but the eggs are smaller, although marked and 
colored in the same way. It did not seem to me to be 
as numerous in the places it frequented as were its rela- 
tives in their habitats, and in certain portions of Montana 
I have rarely met with it, but in other sections, as in the 
Big Horn Mountains, it is common. Its habits do not 
differ from those of the Dusky or Sooty Grouse, and the 
description of these already given will suffice for this bird 
as well. In size it equals the others, and its flesh is as 
white and well-flavored. 

98 











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20. Richardson's Grouse. 



RICHARDSON'S GROUSE. 99 



DENDRAGAPUS OBSCURUS RICHARDSONI. 

Geographical Distribution.— Eastern slopes of Rocky Moun- 
tains, from Northern Wyoming, and Southeastern Idaho to the 
Liard River, latitude 61 in British North America. 

Adult Male.— In general coloration this race resembles the 
D. obscurus, or Dusky Grouse, but has a differently shaped tail, 
which is much more square, and without any distinct terminal 
gray band, merely an edging of pale brown; the feathers also 
are much broader than those of the other two forms. In dimen- 
sions there is little, if any, difference. 

Adult Female. — A specimen of this sex, which belonged to my 
collection, and is now contained in the American Museum of 
Natural History, number 2901, while resembling closely the 
female of the Dusky Grouse on the upper parts, presents certain 
differences beneath : it is much lighter upon the throat, being a 
buffy white, speckled with brown, and there is a good deal of 
white exhibited on lower breast, and on the flanks, the feathers, 
which are slaty gray, being broadly tipped with this hue ; the 
abdomen is slaty gray, the feathers only edged with whitish. 
Tail has the median feathers broadly barred with buff, and all 
are edged with whitish, the ground color being brownish black. 



CANADA GROUSE. 

OANGING from the Pacific Coast at Kadiak in north- 
western Alaska through the British Possessions to 
the Atlantic Ocean, and from the Rocky Mountains east- 
ward through the upper portion of the northern tier of 
States in the Union, the Black Partridge, Spruce or 
Canada Grouse as it is variously called, is one of the best 
known, and, in the localities it frequents, one of the com- 
monest members of the Family. It dwells in the tam- 
arack swamps, or where the spruce and fir grow thickest, 
and is tame and unsuspicious, permitting one to approach 
within a few feet of it as it stands upon a limb or on the 
ground, gazing at the intruder with fearless eye, perhaps 
simply uttering a soft cluck, as it steps on one side to let 
him pass. Many are caught by a noose fastened to the 
end of a stick, the Grouse permitting this to be placed 
around its neck without moving, when it is jerked off 
its perch. I have seen birds push this noose aside with 
their bills without changing their position, when through 
awkwardness, or unsteadiness of hand on account of a 
long reach, the noose had touched the bird's head but 
had not slipped over it. 

This bird does not migrate, in the real sense of the 
term, but may change its locality on account of the lack 
or abundance of food in particular places, and it seems 
able to withstand the severest weather; finding ample 
shelter and protection from cold and storms in the dense 
foliage of the trees amid which it lives, and subsistence 
from the buds of the spruce, about their only food in 



CANADA GROUSE. ioi 

winter. The Spruce Grouse is found usually in small 
flocks consisting generally of one family, but also old 
males are frequently met with alone, and I have always 
regarded it as a bird that was rather fond of solitude. 
Frequently, even in autumn, when the nights were be- 
coming frosty, and snow flurries would hide the sun by 
day, heralding the coming winter, I have seen an old 
male, in the recesses of a swamp, strut about with ruffled 
feathers and trailing wings, as if the air were balmy and 
mild and spring were at hand to awaken in his breast the 
all-controlling passion of love, instead of being near the 
freezing point. He may have been going over the per- 
formance to keep himself in practice, or to impress me, 
possibly, with a proper sense of his own importance, for 
all his movements were calm and dignified in the ex- 
treme, and there was not the slightest evidence of fear, or 
of his being in any way incommoded by such an unim- 
portant event as my presence. 

I have never known the Canada Grouse to assemble 
together in large numbers or " pack " as it is called in 
the Western States, and if this has ever happened, it 
would be, I should imagine, a very unusual occurrence, 
and a large number of birds would find it very difficult 
to obtain sufficient food in any one locality even for a 
day. 

The mating season begins in April, sometimes in the 
far north May is the earliest month, and at this time the 
male appears to the greatest advantage, and no Turkey 
Gobbler, in all his magnificence of gleaming scarlet and 
gold, is a prouder creature than this small Grouse. He 
tries by every means in his power to attract attention to 
himself and gain the admiration of anybody that is look- 
ing at him, whether it be the object of his affections, the 
demure and quiet little hen, or perchance his mortal 



102 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

enemy and persecutor, man. His head is drawn back and 
the bright blood-red combs stand erect and stiff above 
each eye; the feathers of throat and breast are raised 
and puffed out, and the wings are lowered and slightly 
open; while the outspread tail, occasionally closed with 
a swift movement, is elevated above the body. In this 
apparently uncomfortable but proud and striking atti- 
tude, the bird moves slowly about with mincing, jerky 
steps, highly impressed with his own importance and the 
imposing display he is making. Certainly, at such a 
time he is a beautiful object and well worth seeing. He 
has a method of drumming also that is peculiar to him- 
self, and is effected in the following manner: When in the 
act of strutting he suddenly flies upward but not very 
high, keeping the wings moving at a very rapid rate, and 
after holding himself stationary for a moment in the air, 
descends again slowly to the ground. The drumming 
sound is produced by the rapid movement of the wings. 
I have seen certain Pheasants, of the genus Euplocamus, 
drum in a somewhat similar manner, although they did 
not rise from the ground entirely. The wings would be 
beaten violently and rapidly for a few moments, and the 
bird would be raised on to the tips of its toes, sometimes 
the nails just touching the ground, but I never saw it 
entirely quit the earth; and the noise made by the wings 
was a low, deep rumbling with a strange ventriloquial 
power, and although I was looking directly at the bird 
during the performance, the sound appeared to come 
from some place a long distance away rather than 
directly in front of me. 

The nest is a loosely arranged affair of grass, leaves, 
and other slight material, placed under some drooping 
branches of a spruce in the depths of a swamp. A 
writer in the Forest and Stream, Mr. Bishop of Kent- 



CANADA GROUSE. 1 03 

ville, Nova Scotia, described a trait of this Grouse in nest- 
building which I have never witnessed myself. He 
states that the hen, when leaving her nest, will pick up 
sundry articles, like straws, grass, leaves, etc., and throw 
them over her back toward the nest, and sometimes, mis- 
led by the trail, she will throw these things in the wrong 
direction, but as soon as she discovers this, she faces 
about and throws them again over her back toward the 
nest. Then, while she is sitting, she reaches out and 
draws all these different articles lying near toward her, 
and arranges them in such a manner that before the 
young appear the nest is quite a deep affair and sur- 
rounded by a neat border. The number of eggs is 
about a dozen, sometimes a few less, or even more, with 
a ground color varying from a pale to a reddish buff, 
spotted and blotched with marks of various sizes, of a 
reddish brown or burnt umber color. Occasionally an 
unspotted egg may appear, and in a large series there is 
a very great variation in both color and markings. 
Only one brood is raised in a season, and the chicks are 
exceedingly pretty creatures, buffy yellow, with pale 
brown back and wings and sundry black marks on other 
parts of the body. The mother shows great courage in 
their defense, fluttering close to anyone who approaches 
her brood, and will almost permit herself to be touched 
with the hand as she crouches with ruffled feathers, or 
stumbles along in front of the intruder on her privacy. 

The flesh of this Grouse is dark, and in the winter be- 
comes at times very bitter, and is never as well flavored 
as that of the various Dusky or Ruffed Grouse. Still it 
is not to be despised and is often a welcome addition to 
the camp larder, when the bracing air of the woods and 
healthful exercise have produced an appetite that requires 
no sauce to make the food palatable. The young are 



IQ4 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

very active creatures and run with light feet over the 
moss that carpets the swamps which are their home. As 
soon as they can fly they keep much among the branches 
of the trees, and always immediately take refuge there, if 
disturbed when on the ground. In the summer and 
autumn the Spruce Grouse, or Perdrix de la Savanne, 
as it is called by the Habitans or French-Canadians, 
feed on berries and buds of various kinds, and at this time 
they are in the best condition for the table. The crop 
often contains numbers of small stones, swallowed as is 
the habit of all gallinaceous birds to assist digestion or 
grinding the food. It is a beautifully plumaged bird, 
and is one of the most attractive objects of the dark, 
gloomy, and usually silent woods of the far North. In 
the northern part of New York State this Grouse is 
scarce, but is more often met with in the New England 
States, especially Maine, while in the West it is common 
in the large forests of northern Minnesota, and increases 
in numbers as one proceeds toward the Arctic regions 
wherever the forests extend. 

CANACHITES CANADENSIS. 

Geographical Distribution.— -From Kadiak, Alaska, through 
British North America to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east- 
ern slopes of the Rocky Mountains through the northern tier of 
States to the coast line of New York and New England. 

Adult Male.— Upper parts, gray, barred with black: wings, 
usually light gray, mottled and barred with black and brown 
tips, with central white streaks on scapulars, widening at the 
tips; under parts, black, with a mottled black and white border 
to the throat, and many of the feathers, especially on abdomen, 
tipped with pure white; flanks, pale brown, with irregular longi- 
tudinal black lines, and white streaks along the shafts, broaden- 
ing at the tips; under tail-coverts, black tipped with white; upper 
tail-coverts, black, mottled with brown and tipped with gray; 
bill, black. Total length, about 14^ inches; wings, 7; tail 5. 






CANADA GROUSE. 105 

Adult Female. — Upper parts, barred with gray, buff, and 
black, the latter predominating, the gray most conspicuous on 
lower back and rump, and buff or ochraceous predominating 
upon side of breast and flanks, the feathers of these parts having 
central streaks of white broadening at the tip, sometimes the 
entire tip being white. Abdomen, black, feathers tipped with 
white; under tail-coverts, black, barred with buff, and tipped with 
white; median tail feathers, barred with ochraceous and black; 
remainder black, with irregular narrow lines of ochraceous, 
chiefly on the outer webs, and tipped with ochraceous, widest on 
outer feathers. Dimensions about the same as those of the 
male. 

Downy Young. — General color, lemon yellow, darkest on the 
breast, a black bar through the eye to nape; top of head and 
neck, back, and wings, rusty, with two spots on head, and trans- 
verse ones on wings, black; maxilla, black; mandible, pale horn 
color; feet, yellowish. 



FRANKLIN'S GROUSE. 

A TRULY Northern species, like its relative the Can- 
ada Grouse, this bird is found but in few localities 
in the United States, being more an inhabitant of the 
country lying above our border. It ranges from Wash- 
ington and Oregon, through northern Idaho to the Belt 
Range in Montana, and north of our line, in British Co- 
lumbia and the mountains of the Coast Range. In 
most parts of Alaska it seems to be supplanted by the 
Canada Grouse, which reaches the Pacific Coast in that 
Territory; but it is Franklin's Grouse that is met with 
in the mountains of the Coast Range in British Columbia. 
My experience with this bird has been gained mainly 
in the last-named mountains, where I have met with it 
on various occasions. It inhabits similar localities to 
those frequented by .the Spruce Grouse, and is equally 
tame and confiding, hardly taking the trouble to move 
out of the way of man or horse — perhaps mule would be 
a better term — and seems quite indifferent to the presence 
of intruders in its haunts. As a game bird it affords no 
sport whatever, and an entire flock can be killed before 
it enters the head of any of its members that it would be 
a wise thing to take wing and seek some more healthy 
locality. I have met flocks of this species, perhaps con- 
sisting of eight or ten individuals, dusting themselves in 
the trails crossing the mountains, or scattered about them 
on either side, and could easily have bagged the entire lot 




*w 



22. Franklin's Grouse. 



FRANKLIN'S GROUSE. 107 

without creating an alarm, or causing the birds to make 
any attempt at flight. Of course nothing but the neces- 
sity of obtaining food for the camp would excuse such 
thorough slaughter, for certainly there was no sport in 
shooting creatures that would not get out of the way, 
nor rarely make an attempt to fly, and it seemed a 
pity to kill birds for the pot that were so rare in all orni- 
thological collections. A pair obtained on one of these 
occasions, I am glad to think, is now in the collection of 
the American Museum of Natural History in New York. 
The males of Franklin's Grouse are like their relatives 
of the other species, pugnacious creatures, attacking 
almost anything, and very fearless. This trait is of 
course exhibited chiefly during the mating season, but 
they are quite ready to act on the offensive or defensive 
at any time. They have also the same habit as the 
Spruce Grouse of erecting the feathers just below the 
head, making the birds appear very odd, and the males 
strut in a similar way as that already described in the 
article on the other species. This Grouse appears not 
to go far from water, and when in the forest, if not in pre- 
cisely a swamp, the birds would always be found in some 
wet spot, or near a brook or spring. 

Franklin's Grouse is a thorough mountaineer, living at 
altitudes varying all the way from 5000 to 10,000 feet, 
and it is only occasionally that it descends much below 
the first-named elevation. Wherever found there it re- 
sides and breeds, raising the young brood probably in the 
same locality where the parents themselves grew to 
maturity. It is not rare in the places it frequents, but is 
often met with in considerable numbers; not in large 
flocks, but numerous coveys scattered over a con- 
siderable area. From its trustful nature and consequent 
reluctance to save itself by flight, a great many are killed 



108 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

both by Indians and whites, and large numbers are ob- 
tained by hitting them with sticks and stones, at throw- 
ing which the Indians are very expert. The nest of 
this species resembles that of the Canada Grouse, merely 
a shallow depression in the ground or moss, lined with 
leaves or grass, and the eggs resemble exactly those of 
its relative, but are slightly smaller. A single brood is 
raised in a season, and nesting commences the latter part 
of May or beginning of June. This species and the 
preceding one are very much alike in the general color 
of their plumage, but Franklin's Grouse can always be 
recognized by the broad white bars at the end of the 
upper tail-coverts, and the tail itself is without the white 
edging, and more inclined to a square shape or one only 
slightly rounded. In size the two forms are about equal. 



CANACHITES FRANKLINF 

Geographical' Distribution. — Rocky Mountains from North- 
west Montana, through Oregon and Washington, and the coast 
range of British Columbia to Alaska. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts, similar to the Spruce Grouse, but 
with the upper back, scapulars, and wings of a brown hue, the bars 
and mottling being of that color; no white central streaks on the 
wings, but some of the tertials tipped with white; upper tail- 
coverts very broadly tipped with white, and this is a conspicuous 
character of this species; the entire under parts are like those of 
its Eastern relative, but the white beneath and on the sides of 
the throat is narrower and much less prominent; tail, almost 
square, and of a uniform sooty brown, nearly black on the apical 
half; bill, black. Total length, about 15! inches; wing, 7^; 
tail, 5. 

Adult Female. — Upper parts, gray, barred with black and 
ochraceous, narrowest on head and neck, broadest and most con- 
spicuous on upper part of back; upper tail-coverts ochraceous, 
mottled with black and tipped with white; innermost second- 
aries with a central line and tip, white; primaries, dark brown; 



FRANKLIN'S GROUSE. 109 

outer webs, mottled with light brown; under parts, barred with 
black and ochraceous, feathers tipped broadly with white upon 
the flanks and belly; under tail-coverts, black, barred with 
orange and tipped broadly with white; tail, ochraceous, barred 
and mottled with black and tipped with white; thighs and tarsi, 
ashy brown; bill, black. Measurements about as in the male. 



PRAIRIE HEN. 

^THROUGHOUT the prairies of the Mississippi 
Valley, south to Louisiana and Texas and west to 
Kansas and Dakota, east to Indiana and Kentucky and 
north to Manitoba, this familiar and well-known bird is 
found in greater or less abundance. Along the eastern 
limit of its dispersion the Prairie Chicken is rapidly 
diminishing, and like the buffalo, and many other wild 
creatures that once roamed in countless numbers over 
certain portions of our land, will doubtless soon entirely 
disappear. But as if to atone for the loss of its eastern 
possessions, it follows its star of empire westward, and as 
the settlements increase and multiply, so the Prairie 
Hen appears to flourish, and like Bob White accom- 
panies man as he penetrates the wilderness, either of 
forest or treeless plains. It is a resident species through- 
out nearly all its range, breeding where found, save in the 
northern portions of our land, and in the autumn, when 
the weather is severe, the females, for the flocks are 
mostly of that sex, leave the northern limit of their 
habitat and proceed south to more genial climes, such as 
may be found in Iowa and Missouri. In the spring, as 
soon as the weather has become somewhat settled, the 
birds all return to their northern homes. The males 
seem to remain behind, whether too lazy to undertake 
the journey, or less mindful of the excessive cold fre- 
quently experienced near the Canadian border, it is diffi- 
cult to determine, but probably the cold affects them 
less. 




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A wo. SKe^p 



23. Prairie Hen. 



PRAIRIE HEN. .in 

At one time this bird was dispersed over a large part 
of the eastern United States, and was by no means es- 
pecially a prairie dweller, but it is difficult to ascer- 
tain where its limits and those of the Heath Hen, now 
restricted to Martha's Vineyard, originally were, but 
probably somewhere along the boundaries of the Middle 
States. I do not imagine the Heath Hen was more of 
a woodland species than is the Prairie Chicken, but both 
dwelt among the open woods if there were any within 
their range. In the spring, in the early mornings, 
throughout the country which this species inhabits, soon 
after daybreak, is heard the loud booming of the males, 
when, assembled upon some slight elevations in the prai- 
rie, they inflate and exhaust the yellow sacs on either side 
of the neck, producing, as the orange-colored bladder 
collapses, a low, booming sound that can be heard for 
a long distance. The lengthened feathers on the neck 
at such times are elevated and projected stiffly forward, 
almost meeting above the head. When their sacs are 
fully extended the bird has a most comical appearance, 
as his head nearly disappears between the enormous 
globes which stand out in either side until his neck has 
as large a diameter as his body. The tail is raised above 
the back and spread out to its fullest extent, and the 
wings are lowered with the primaries scraping along 
the ground. In this uncomfortable attitude the male 
struts before the females, who at first take but little 
interest in the exhibition and hardly deign a glance 
at their adorer, striving so hard to appear magnificent 
and attractive. He makes a sudden rush forward, dart- 
ing fiery glances from his eyes, peering out from beneath 
the neck feathers, anxiously watching the effect his strik- 
ing appearance is having upon the fair ones, and then, 
lowering his bill toward the ground and spreading the 



112 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

mandibles, he exhausts the air sacs and gives vent to the 
booming sound that rolls and echoes, like the tones from 
the great pipes of the organ, over the wide prairie. 
Where hundreds of males are so occupied in the stillness 
of the early day, before the sun has risen, and the shadows 
of departing night are being faintly dissipated by the rosy 
tints that herald his coming beams, the concert of varied 
sounds is very impressive, as the many different tones 
come from every direction, echoing through the air, and 
carried in strong booming notes for great distances over 
the prairie-land. Shortly after the sun has fairly risen the 
display ceases and the birds go about their daily avoca- 
tion, to commence the same exhibition again the next 
morning. Occasionally during the day, in places where 
the birds are not molested, or removed from the presence 
of human beings, the boom of some male may be 
heard at almost any hour, but no concerts are attempted 
save just at daybreak. These displays continue for a 
number of days, and toward the latter part of their court- 
ship the males are more anxious, and do not take as 
much care to avoid contact with each other as they did 
at first, and then desperate battles occur, the fighting 
cocks leaping into the air and tearing at each other with 
bills and claws and striking with their wings, until the 
weaker, utterly exhausted, flees away and leaves the field 
and, what is of much more importance doubtless in his 
eyes, the hens also, to the victor. 

These fair feathered creatures have lately shown much 
more interest in the antics and combats of the males, 
and move about them, quickly at times, or else remain 
motionless and watch them displaying themselves in all 
the pride of conscious power and beauty as they slowly 
move along, or when, in the midst of the deadly fray, the 
courageous birds strive for some particular sweetheart 



PRAIRIE HEN. 1 13 

beloved by both combatants. Having chosen their mates 
the pairs seek suitable places for the nest, which is placed 
in the midst of thick prairie grass, or in a corner of some 
field among weeds, on the borders of swamps, in culti- 
vated grounds, or far out on the open prairie, sometimes 
in quite exposed situations. A slight depression in the 
soil is lined with grass and some feathers from the hen's 
own body. Prairie fires, mowing machines, and floods 
destroy many thousands of eggs in a season, and occa- 
sionally the young themselves are caught and slain by 
the sharp knives that are laying low the grass. The 
usual number of eggs is from ten to fourteen, but some- 
times twenty or more have been found in one nest. 
Their color shades from a pale cream to light brown, 
regularly spotted with fine reddish brown dots, and there 
is great variation among them, no two being exactly 
alike. Incubation lasts from twenty-three to twenty- 
eight days, and one brood is raised in a season, though, 
if the eggs be destroyed or lost from any cause, the hen 
may lay again, but this is exceptional. The male does 
not trouble himself with the cares of either the nesting 
or of the young when they appear, but keeps to him- 
self, and the broods probably get along just as well with- 
out him. 

As soon as they are hatched the chicks leave the nest, 
and the female leads them away where insects, especially 
grasshoppers, abound, and these at first are their sole 
food. As they grow in size and strength they eat grain 
of different sorts as they may happen to find it, and also 
berries. The hen is courageous and protects her brood 
to the best of her limited ability, feigning lameness and 
employing all the usual artifices to attract attention to 
herself and give her little ones a chance to escape. These 
hide away with great celerity and adroitness, and it is 



114 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

often extraordinary, how easily the chicks will disappear 
from view and effectually escape all search, be it carried 
on ever so patiently and perseveringly, even on the open 
prairie with apparently no opportunities for conceal- 
ment. Towards the end of August the broods are 
nearly full grown, and later in the season many flocks 
pack together until several hundreds are present in one 
gathering. They are then usually very wild, and, when 
started, will fly often several miles before alighting, and 
little can be done with them over dogs. But before this 
congregating together takes place the Prairie Chicken 
lies well to the dog, and is one of the most desirable of 
the game birds as an object of sport in the field. 

A covey having been located by the dog, the birds will 
almost always lie very close, flushing in easy range in 
twos or threes, and after, as may be supposed, all the 
birds have either flown away or rest in the sportsman's 
game bag, there is always still one old bird remaining, 
which rises at length with a prodigious fluttering and 
cackling, either just when the sportsman is reloading 
his gun and so escapes, or else, having miscalculated 
his time, appears when the guns are all ready for him, 
and joins his brethren in the pocket or wagon. When 
young, the flesh of the Prairie Hen is white, but becomes 
dark as the bird attains its full growth. It is excellent 
for the table, especially when eaten soon after the bird 
is killed, for it loses flavor after having been kept for 
a length of time, especially if, as is the case with thou- 
sands of birds served in the Eastern cities, they have been 
frozen, tossed about perhaps for weeks like lumps of ice, 
and then thawed out before being cooked. The most 
toothsome morsel in the world, after such treatment, 
could not be expected to have much more flavor than 
a dried chip. 



PRAIRIE HEN. H5 

When flushed the Pinnated Grouse always utters a 
few clucks, and the crest on the head is frequently raised. 
It has the habit of lifting and depressing the crest when 
walking on the ground and when one approaches near 
to it. This is only, however, when it has not been much 
disturbed and is tame. At other times it crouches among 
the grass or close to the ground, and only moves to take 
wing. In spite of the enormous number killed every 
year by all sort of means, the species still manages to 
hold its own fairly well in many localities, but the inevita- 
ble day will surely come that will bring the same fate to 
all our wild creatures, and the Prairie Chicken, like other 
natives of the wilderness, will remain only as a memory. 

TYMPANUCHUS AMERICANUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Prairies of Mississippi Valley 
from Manitoba on the northeast to Ontario, Michigan, and Ohio, 
west to the Dakotas, Kansas, and the Indian Territory, and south 
to Louisiana and Texas. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts, brown, barred with black and 
buff; wing feathers, tipped with buff; a tuft of stiff, elongated 
feathers, capable of being elevated over the head on either side 
of the neck, black, with buff centers, frequently chestnut on the 
inner webs; chin, throat, and cheeks, buff; the latter marked 
with dark brown spots; a brown line from mouth, beneath the 
eye to ear-coverts; buff stripe from maxilla to and beyond the 
eye; under parts, white, barred with brown or blackish brown; 
flanks, barred with blackish brown, and buff; under tail-coverts, 
white, edged at tip with brown and margined with dark brown 
and buff; tail, brown, darkest on median feathers, and tipped 
with white; large sac of loose skin, capable of inflation beneath 
the long neck feathers. Total length, about 18 inches; wing, 9; 
tail, 4^. 

Adult Female. — Resembles the male, but is without the neck 
sac, has the neck tufts very short or rudimentary, and the tail 
feathers have numerous distinct bars of buff. Total length, 
about 17-J inches; wing, 8|; tail, 3f. 



n6 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

In the breeding season there is a red skin over the eye, large 
and erectile in the male. 

Downy Young. — General color, yellowish buff, inclined to 
rusty on breast and sides; several spots or broken lines on head 
and occiput, stripe across shoulder, and blotches on back and 
rump black, wing feathers barred with light brown and buff, and 
striped in center with white. 




^Wlix ^V^VV"- V V.- 



24. Heath Hen. 



HEATH HEN. 

\A ARTHA'S VINEYARD, an island off the coast of 
Massachusetts, is the last stronghold of the Heath 
Hen, which formerly dwelt in various parts of that State, 
as well as in Connecticut, on Long Island, on Hempstead 
Plains, and other localities, New Jersey, and Pennsyl- 
vania. It may also have ranged over a greater part of 
the Middle States. It closely resembles the Pinnated 
Grouse of the Western States, and it would require an 
expert to distinguish readily the points of difference 
between them. But still in coloring, shape of the lance- 
olate neck feathers of the male, short tarsus, and gen- 
erally smaller size, it has sufficient differences to be 
classed as a distinct species. 

The Heath Hen is, now at all events, a woodland bird 
and dwells among the almost impregnable tracts of 
scrubby oaks and pines which cover perhaps an area 
of forty square miles, and comprise about all the wooded 
portion of Martha's Vineyard. Within this limited area 
several hundred birds are assembled, the last remnant 
of the great host that at one time was spread over a 
number of the Atlantic States. The nature of the coverts 
they frequent, difficult for man to penetrate, and their 
habit of remaining almost continually in the thick woods, 
insures that protection which will probably preserve the 
species, even in its diminished numbers, for a long time 
to come. Living thus almost entirely in these woods 
of scrub oaks, the birds feed on the acorns that lie scat- 
tered over the ground, occasionally wandering out into 



Ii8 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

the open to seek for grain, berries, or leaves which afford 
them a slight change of diet, and sometimes in winter, 
when the weather is severe and the snow deep, they will 
approach the barns or other buildings on the farms, and 
pick up whatever they can find in the way of grain or 
other suitable food. The nesting season appears to be 
a late one, although this is difficult to determine, as but 
few persons have seen the nest, but young broods have 
been met with late in July, which would show that incu- 
bation must have commenced somewhere near the begin- 
ning of that month. The booming note of the males is 
heard in the spring when they commence their courting, 
between daybreak and sunrise, and although, on account 
of the nature of the ground, the birds are seldom seen, 
yet the antics they practice at that time may not vary 
from those of the Pinnated Grouse at the same season. 
This booming sound at all events is very similar to that 
made by the Western birds. The eggs have rarely been 
taken, but a set of six, in the possession of my friend 
Mr. William Brewster of Cambridge, are about the same 
size as those of the Pinnated Grouse, perhaps a little 
smaller, and buffy white or creamy buff in color, tinged 
with greenish and unspotted. The nest is the usual slight 
depression in the soil, carelessly lined, and situated 
among weeds or anything affording concealment, and 
placed near a stump, roots of a tree, or fallen log. 

With adequate protection from strictly enforced laws, 
aided by the stunted trees and bushes fcrming a tangled 
growth and covering the ground they frequent, there 
is no reason why these survivors of a disappearing race 
should not be able to preserve the existence of the species 
through long series of years yet to come. 



HEATH HEAT. 119 



TYMPANUCHUS CUPIDO. 

Geographical Distribution. — Island of Martha's Vineyard, 
Massachusetts. Formerly abundant on Long Island , New Jersey, 
Eastern Pennsylvania, and Virginia, but now extinct in all those 
localities. 

Adult Male. — Closely resembling the previous species, but 
distinguishable by its short pointed neck feathers, the tufts com- 
posed of not more than ten lanceolate feathers (those of T. ameri- 
canus containing more than this number), and by the large ter- 
minal whitish buff spots on the scapulars. Length of wing, 
about 8-J- inches; tail, 4. 

Female has the lanceolate neck feathers rudimentary, and is 
slightly smaller than the male. 



LESSER PRAIRIE HEN. 

A SMALLER, pale-colored variety of the Pinnated 
Grouse, inhabiting southwestern Kansas, the western 
part of Indian Territory, and western Texas, has been 
designated as a separate race under the name given 
above. It would not probably be regarded as in any 
way different from the Pinnated Grouse by one who 
was not an ornithologist and trained to observe technical 
or slight distinctions between animals. It is somewhat 
different in coloring and appears smaller, though meas- 
urements seem to* show that the size of the two birds 
is pretty nearly equal. In certain parts of Texas, such 
as the districts lying to the south and southeast of San 
Antonio, this' race is very abundant, and is also found, 
but in more limited numbers, north of that city. It is 
also common in the Indian Territory. Its most southern 
range in Texas appears to be just north of Fort Brown, 
near the coast. The eggs are somewhat smaller than 
those of the Northern Prairie Chicken, and paler in color, 
being a creamy or buffy white, covered with very fine 
grayish or brownish dots; sometimes the shell is entirely 
unspotted. The habits and nesting of this race are prac- 
tically not different from those of the species already 
described. 

TYMPANUCHUS PALLIDICINCTUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Western Texas, through Indian 
Territory to Kansas. 

Adult Male.— Differs from the Pinnated Grouse in being much 







Jfei 



^pyg^ 



25. Lesser Prairie Hen. 



LESSER PRAIRIE HEN. 121 

darker above, and barred by light brown or buff, inclosed be- 
tween two black bars, as is also the case on the flank feathers; 
the brown bars on the pale brown under parts are narrow and 
close together, especially on the breast; under tail-coverts, barred 
with dark brown and white, and tipped with white; neck tufts, 
broad, and feathers rounded at tip; loose skin beneath neck tufts. 
Total length, about 15 inches; wing, 8£; tail, 4. 

Adult Female. — Like male, without air sacs on neck, and 
rudimentary neck tufts; tail barred with rusty. Wing, 8 inches; 
tail, 3 |. 



ATTWATER'S PRAIRIE HEN. 

'"p'HIS is another race of the Northern species, and 
appears to be restricted to the coast line of Louisiana 
and Texas. It differs from the other species of the 
genus in having the tarsus feathered only on the upper 
two-thirds, and a suffusion of cinnamon rufous on 
the tufts of long feathers in the neck, which are almost 
square at their tips, forming almost a collar in front at 
base of neck. In size it is about the same as T. 
pallidicinctus. 



TYMPANUCHUS A TTWA TERL 

Geographical Distribution. — Gulf coast of Texas and Louisi- 
ana. 

Adult Male. — Similar to T. americanus, but much darker on 
the back and top of head; neck tufts, black on tips and apical 
half of outer webs, remainder, buff and cinnamon rufous; base 
of neck in front and on sides, cinnamon rufous, with central 
buff stripes on feathe,rs, broadening toward the tips; throat and 
fore-neck, pale buff spotted with brown; tail, smoky-brown, 
whitish buff on margins of outer webs; tarsi, feathered on upper 
two-thirds. Total length, 15 inches; wing, 8 T ^; tail, 3. 

Adult female smaller. Total length, 13! inches; wing, 8; 
tail, 3. 

Downy Young. — Upper parts, pale chestnut; spot on top of 
head, and broken line on occiput, and indistinct lines on back, 
wings, and rump, black; rest of body lemon yellow, with a rusty 
tinge on breast 




26. Attwater's Prairie Hen. 







&;,- 






27. Sharp-Tailed Grouse. 



SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 

'"THERE are three races of Sharp-tailed Grouse: a dark 
form, almost black in its markings, and two lighter 
colored subspecies. The present is the dark style and 
has a high Northern dispersion, never coming within the 
boundaries of the United States. It ranges throughout 
British America as high as 69 of north latitude, and does 
not come to the south much below 52 . It has not been 
found west of the Rocky Mountains, but occurs on some 
of the eastern slopes, is abundant near Great Slave Lake, 
and on the Atlantic side of the continent is not uncom- 
mon around Hudson Bay. 

Mr. MacFarlane has given about all the information 
we have of this species in its native haunts, and he says 
it breeds in the pine forests on both sides of the Lock- 
hart and Anderson rivers, where some nests were taken. 
A single brood is raised in a season, and its habits and 
economy do not differ from the better known birds liv- 
ing within the limits of the Union. The number of eggs 
ranges from seven to fourteen, of a fawn or very dark 
buff color, or olive-brown marked with small spots of 
reddish brown. The eggs are much darker in appearance 
than those of. either of the subspecies, and, like those of 
many of the other species of Grouse, the markings can 
be easily rubbed off, leaving the shell a pale hue, some- 
times almost white. Incubation begins very early, before 
the snow and ice have vanished in those northern regions, 
and nests with eggs have been found as early as the be- 
ginning of May. It dwells both in the wooded districts 



124 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

and in the open country, and from the striking con- 
trast between the black and white of its plumage pre- 
sents a very handsome appearance. The legs are very 
heavily feathered and the feet also, the toes being com- 
pletely covered to the claws, thus affording ample pro- 
tection to the bird against the intense cold of the Arctic 
regions in which it lives. 

Between the typical style of the Sharp-tailed Grouse 
and that of the Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse there is 
exhibited in the birds living on our Northern borders and 
some distance beyond, every gradation between the dark 
Arctic birds and the light-colored ones of the United 
States, so that it is impossible to fix any precise limit to 
the habitat of either form. It can only be stated that, 
as the United States form goes northward it gradually, 
by successive degrees, darkens into the typical Grouse 
of the Arctic regions, having no especial locality where 
the divergence commences. In size it is about the same 
as the Columbian Grouse, and doubtless its flesh is 
equally palatable. 

PEDICECETES PHASIANELLUS. 

Geographical Distribution.— British America from Lake 
Superior and Hudson Bay to Fort Simpson. 

Adult Male.— -Top of head, neck, and entire upper parts, black, 
barred and mottled everywhere except on top of head, with buff, 
the bars narrow, thus making the prevailing color black, instead 
of brown or buff; the bars are pale buff on rump and upper tail- 
coverts, giving these a lighter appearance than the rest of the 
upper parts; wings, like the back, with broad, central white 
streaks on the scapulars, and white spots on the coverts and 
white bars and tips to the secondaries; primaries, dark chocolate 
brown, with equidistant white spots on outer webs; under parts, 
white, spotted with black on the throat and front of neck, and 
broad V-shaped blackish brown marks near the center of the 



SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 125 

feathers, most numerous upon the breast and flanks, and grow- 
ing gradually smaller and fewer as they approach the abdomen; 
central elongated feathers of the tail, black, irregularly barred 
with white and light buff, remainder of feathers, white; under 
tail-coverts, white, with a dark brown line along the shafts of 
some of the feathers. Legs and toes, covered with hairy light 
brown feathers; bill, blackish brown. Total length, about 16 
inches; wing, 8£; tail, to end of median feathers, 5^. 

Adult Female. — There does not seem to be any particular dif- 
ference in the coloration of the sexes, but the female may be 
slightly smaller. 



COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 

T NHABITING the Northwestern States of the Union 
from Montana and Wyoming to Washington and 
Oregon, on the eastern slopes of the mountains which 
there check its progress toward the Pacific, and thence 
north through British Columbia to Alaska, this bird is 
the Western representative of the race dwelling upon 
the prairies of the States lying just east of the Rocky 
Mountains. South it goes to Nevada and the north- 
eastern part of California. To most persons the two 
forms here distinguished as the Columbian and Prairie 
Sharp-tailed Grouse would appear to be the same, the 
slight differences of color and style of markings not being 
sufficiently striking and tangible to be perceived without 
having the assistance of an expert to point them out. 
And, in truth, the differences are very slight, but never- 
theless have been deemed important enough to give the 
birds the rank of separate races. The locality of a speci- 
men, however, would be of the highest importance, in 
many instances, in assisting the decision as to which 
race it belonged. This Grouse, known, in addition 
to the name given above, as the Pin-tail, Spike-tail 
Grouse, and Prairie Chicken, has practically the same 
habits as those of its Eastern relative, and is very common 
throughout the districts in which it is found. Like the 
Prairie Sharp-tail, it keeps to the open country, and if 
met with in summer in the wooded portions, it will only 
be along their edges, where it has easy access to the 
prairie-land. 

In the spring, before sunrise, these birds meet together 

126 




28. Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse. 



COLUMBIAN SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 127 

and " dance " in a similar way to that described in the 
article on the Pinnated Grouse, although, if possible, 
they are more active in their movements and exhibit 
greater excitement. This " saturnalia " is preparatory 
to selecting mates for the serious business of the ap- 
proaching nesting season, and the males make the most 
frantic efforts to cause themselves to appear attractive to 
the numerous hens gathered around. They have, like 
the Pinnated and some other Grouse, a loose skin on the 
sides of the neck, capable of being inflated, swelling out 
like two great oranges, one on either side, which emit, 
when being exhausted, a sound that has been likened 
to a " bubbling crow," quite different to the organ-like 
" boom " of the Prairie Chicken. Incubation begins the 
latter part of April, the nest being placed in a bunch of 
grass, well concealed from view, and consists of a depres- 
sion lined with grass and occasionally some feathers from 
the hen's abdomen. On this are deposited from ten to 
fifteen eggs, pale buff or brown in color, covered with 
very fine reddish brown spots. In about three weeks 
the young appear, active little creatures running about 
as soon as they are freed from the shell, and are carefully 
watched and tended by the hen, who is always ready to 
guard and defend them with great courage and deter- 
mination. Like the young of all Grouse, insects are the 
principal means of subsistence at this early period of their 
lives, and later they feed on seeds, leaves, and berries. 
Toward September the young are pretty well grown, and 
later they pack, assembling in large flocks, and are then 
usually wild and difficult to approach. In certain parts 
of their dispersion they resort to swamps and near-by 
woods. In winter they frequently retire to the timbered 
country, probably as a refuge from severe storms and 
deep snows, and at this time may often be seen perched 



128 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

on trees. I think, however, this is a common habit of 
all Sharp-tailed Grouse if they happen to be in a country 
where trees abound, and it is a very usual occurrence in 
winter, or early in the morning during the autumn, to 
see numbers of Grouse standing or sitting upon the 
branches. When flushed they always cackle as they rise, 
and fly swiftly in a straight line, alternately sailing along 
and then flapping the wings with a few quick, short 
strokes. They are able to go long distances without 
stopping, but, as a rule, when not much hunted, they 
alight after making a short flight. As the country be- 
comes settled this Grouse is more seldom met with, as 
it retires to the wilder portions of the land, for, unlike 
the Pinnated Grouse, it is a bird of the wilderness and 
shuns man's habitations. 

PEDICECETES PHASIANELLUS COLUMBIANUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Eastern Rocky Mountains, from 
Montana and Wyoming to Oregon and Washington, then north- 
ward west of mountains to Central Alaska. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts, grayish buff, with but a little of 
the rusty hue (this, if present, confined to the middle of the 
back), and barred, mottled, and occasionally blotched with black; 
the white markings and spots on scapulars and wings not so con- 
spicuous as in the previous species, when contrasted with the 
hue of the general plumage; throat and sides of face pale buff, 
with a cluster of brown spots on the cheeks; breast, light buff, 
rest of under parts and flanks, white, all with longitudinal lines 
of blackish brown, sometimes rounded at the tip, sometimes in- 
clined to a V-shape ; lengthened central tail feathers, like the 
rump, lateral ones grayish white, barred with blackish brown, es- 
pecially on outer webs; under tail-coverts, white barred with black- 
ish brown, chiefly on the outer webs ; legs, covered to the toes 
with brownish white feathers ; maxilla, horn color ; mandible, 
brownish white. Total length, about 15-^ inches; wing, 7f ; tail, 4^. 

Adult Female. — Closely resembles the male, but the central 
tail feathers barely extend beyond the lateral ones. 








29. Prairie Sharp-Tailed Grouse. 



PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 

""pHIS race of the Sharp-tailed Grouse ranges from 
* Montana on the north to Wisconsin and Illinois on 
the east, Colorado on the west, and New Mexico on the 
south. This is practically its present distribution, but 
doubtless long ago its eastern limit was much nearer to 
the Atlantic Coast than it is now, but the bird was forced 
westward by the advance of civilization and settlement of 
the country, and its place occupied by the Pinnated 
Grouse, which follows man's footsteps as he penetrates 
into the wilderness. This process is indeed going on to- 
day, and yearly the range of the Sharp-tailed Grouse is 
becoming more restricted as it is hemmed in by settle- 
ments from every side. Although it is generally re- 
garded as exclusively a prairie bird, this is a mistaken 
idea, as has been shown in the account of the Northern 
and Western forms, which do in certain localities frequent 
the woods, and there is no reason whatever to suppose 
that in earlier times these birds were not as much at 
home, and throve as well in forest-covered districts, as did 
the Prairie Chicken at one time, when it was abundant on 
large tracts of the Atlantic Coast, or as the remnant left 
does to-day on Martha's Vineyard. 

The habits of this well-known bird do not differ from 
those of the Western race already described, nor indeed 
from those of the Pinnated Grouse. In the early spring, 
in the month of April, when perhaps in many parts of 
their habitat in the northern regions, the snow still 

remains upon the ground, the birds, both males and 

129 



130 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

females, assemble at some favorite place just as day is 
breaking, to go through a performance as curious as it is 
eccentric. The males with ruffled feathers, spread tails, 
expanded air sacs on the neck, heads drawn toward 
the back, and drooping wings (in fact the whole body 
puffed out as nearly as possible into the shape of a ball 
on two stunted supports), strut about in circles, not all 
going the same way, but passing and crossing each other 
in various angles. As the " dance " proceeds the excite- 
ment of the birds increases, they stoop toward the 
ground, twist and turn, make sudden rushes forward 
stamping the ground with short quick beats of the feet, 
leaping over each other in their frenzy, then lowering 
their heads, exhaust the air in the sacs, producing a hol- 
low sound that goes reverberating through the still air 
of the breaking day. Suddenly they become quiet, and 
walk about like creatures whose sanity is unquestioned, 
when some male again becomes possessed, and starts off 
on a rampage, and the " attack " from which he suffers 
becomes infectious and all the other birds at once give 
evidences of having taken the same disease, which then 
proceeds with a regular development to the usual con- 
clusion. As the sun gets well above the horizon, and 
night's shadows have all been hurried away, the antics of 
the birds cease, the booming no longer resounds over the 
prairie, and the Grouse scatter in search of food, and in 
pursuit of their daily avocations. While this perform- 
ance is always to be seen in the spring, it is not unusually 
indulged in for a brief turn in the autumn, and while it 
may be considered as essentially a custom of the breed- 
ing season, yet like the drumming of the Ruffed Grouse, 
it may be regarded also as an exhibition of the birds' 
vigor and vitality, indulged in at periods of the year even 
when the breeding season has long passed. 



PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 13 1 

There seems to be no spot especially favored by the 
hen as a site for the nest, so long as it affords suitable 
concealment. With the shelter of some bush, along the 
bank of a stream where the cover is somewhat dense, 
or in the midst of a clump of weeds, in thickets on the 
hillside, or in a bunch of grass out on the open prairie, 
she is equally satisfied, and in a slight hollow arched over 
with grass deposits her eggs. These are precisely 
like those of the Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse, and the 
usual number in a clutch is about a dozen, though some- 
times considerably more are laid, and but one brood is 
raised in a season. The hen is a very close sitter, and 
her plumage harmonizes so well with her surroundings 
that it is a very difficult matter to discover her on the 
nest. In about three weeks the chicks appear, and the 
mother is very solicitous for their welfare, leading them 
in search of insects, which at first comprise their means of 
subsistence, and keeping them near some thickets where 
they can easily hide on the approach of danger. She 
clucks to them like a domestic hen, and shelters them 
under her wings from the storm. In spite of all her care 
many a downy chick disappears, borne away in the talons 
of some Hawk which has swooped suddenly upon the 
brood from an unlooked for quarter, or else a watchful 
fox or other quadruped, or gliding snake, has snatched 
one of the little creatures as it chased some flying insect. 
Not many of the members of a brood that is hatched 
reach maturity, for numerous vacancies from various 
causes are usually created in the ranks. Toward the last 
of September the young are about full grown, and at this 
time they lie well to the dog, and generally are not wild. 
The flock does not rise simultaneously, always some of 
its members remaining after the others are well upon the 
wing. As they flush they utter a cackling cry, and this 



13 2 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

is often repeated with each beat of the wings, even after 
they have flown for some distance. The flight is mostly 
performed in a straight line, except where the nature of 
the ground makes it an impossibility, and is swift, the bird 
being borne along by alternate flappings and sailings. 
When the wings are held motionless, they are much 
curved, with the primaries spread far apart toward the 
tips, and turned down. If many coveys occupy similar 
tracts of country they keep their little family parties sepa- 
rate and distinct from each other, and if they have not 
been much molested will permit one to approach very 
near them without exhibiting any signs of alarm. In 
the autumn, in such localities as the Bad Lands of the 
Dakotas, they are in the habit of passing much of their 
time in the "coulees" or wooded ravines, into which they 
always fly for shelter if by chance they have been flushed 
anywhere in the open grounds, or among the buttes. 
When scattered in these ravines excellent sport can be 
had with them, as they He close and generally rise singly, 
and as the sportsman is frequently above them, they 
present easy marks as they fly out of the bushes into the 
open, or rise above the cover if declining to leave the 
place of refuge. • . 

The Prairie Sharp-tail or White-belly, as it is some- 
times called, is partly migratory, and, as I have already 
said, its habits vary somewhat in the different seasons, 
being a good deal of a prairie dweller in the summer, but 
more of a woodland bird in the winter. But this is natural, 
as it would not be likely to remain on the storm-swept 
plains during the severe weather, if the shelter that the 
trees afforded was near at hand and easily secured. In 
the autumn and winter the flocks unite and form great 
packs of several hundred individuals and are then wary 
and very watchful, running swiftly away from any object 



PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 133 

that alarms them, or taking wing when yet a long dis- 
tance off. The flight is also much more protracted at 
this time, the packs frequently keeping on until lost to 
view. 

At this period they are in the habit of perching much 
in trees, frequently on the tops of houses or any out- 
lying buildings. I have often seen a tree nearly full of 
Grouse, so thickly were they assembled on the branches, 
some sitting close to the limbs looking more like great 
bunches without any particular shape at all, while others 
would stand upright in a stiff, constrained attitude, with 
the neck drawn out to its fullest extent and held motion- 
less, and the legs showing to the full extent of the thighs. 
Sometimes they will remain in such situations even 
though shot at more than once, and occasionally a num- 
ber may be killed, if the lowest in the tree is selected, 
so that the falling body may not alarm the living birds 
and cause them to take flight. They appear much mag- 
nified when on the bran :hes, especially if their forms be 
sharply outlined against the sky. If much hunted their 
behavior in the trees changes, and as soon as anyone is 
seen approaching, the birds are at once on the qui vive, 
and, motionless, regard intently the object of their fears. 
Soon a warning kluck is heard, every head is raised and 
neck outstretched, and then with a loud kluck one bird 
takes wing, to be followed immediately by all the rest, ut- 
tering many khick-klucks as they go. Usually they alight 
at no great distance, but their watchfulness is not less- 
ened, and if pursued, the same tactics are repeated. The 
food of this Grouse consists of insects, leaves, berries, 
and, wherever it grows, the hips of the wild rose, whose 
hard seeds, answering the purpose of gravel in helping to 
grind the food, are greedily eaten. It also feeds on grain 
when readily accessible, for as a rule these birds do not 



134 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

keep much about cultivated lands, and enter fields prob- 
ably more for the insects they may be able to find there 
than with the view of obtaining grain. The flesh of the 
Prairie Sharp-tail is like its congeners', light-colored when 
the bird is young but dark in the adult, and if you are not 
compelled by stress of circumstances to eat it three times 
a day, as I have been, is very palatable. It is a noble 
bird, game in the fullest and truest sense of the word, 
and presents a beautiful sight as it walks easily and grace- 
fully over the prairie, raising at intervals its lengthened 
crest, and looking back at its observer, with its clear 
liquid eyes betokening a trust and confidence that is, alas! 
too often misplaced. The Sharp-tailed and the Pinnated 
Grouse often meet on the limits of their dispersion, but 
rarely mingle together, for they are deadly enemies and 
engage in desperate battles; the habits and dispositions 
of the birds causing them to lead different lives and seek 
dissimilar habitats. To my mind the Sharp-tail is the 
finer and handsomer bird. 



PEDICECETES PHASIANELLUS CAMPESTRIS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Prairies east of Rocky Moun- 
tains from Montana to New Mexico, and from Wisconsin and 
Illinois to Colorado. 

Adult Male. — Entire upper parts, buff, ochraceous upon back 
and scapulars, blotched and barred with black; scapulars 
streaked with white, and large white spots on tips of wing-cov- 
erts; primaries, dark brown, spotted with white on outer webs; 
spot in front of eye, sides of face and throat, light buff, with a 
cluster of brown spots on the cheeks; under parts, white, with 
lengthened V-shaped brown lines on each feather, most numer- 
ous on breast, where they are the predominant color; middle of 
abdomen and under tail-coverts, white; central tail feathers ex- 
tend beyond the rest, and are barred with black and ochraceous; 
legs, brownish white: maxilla, black, mandible, horn color at 



PRAIRIE SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 135 

base, black at tip. Total length, about i6£ inches; wing, 8£; 
tail, si. 

Adult Female is slightly smaller than the male, and the central 
tail feathers are shorter. Otherwise resembles him in her plum- 
age. 

Downy Young. — Upper parts, buff, irregularly marked with 
lines and spots of black, broadest upon the back; wings, barred 
with white and black; under parts, lemon yellow, inclined to 
buff upon the breast; bill, light yellow; culmen, brown. 



SAGE GROUSE. 

I ARGEST of all American Grouse, and only exceeded 
in size by the Cock of the Woods or Capercailzie of 
the Old World, the Sage Grouse is an inhabitant of the 
barren plains where the sage bush (Artemisia) grows, 
the leaves of which constitute its principal food. Its 
range is from Assiniboia and British Columbia in the 
north to New Mexico in the south, and from the Da- 
kotas in the east to California, Oregon, and Washington 
in the west. It is a resident and breeds wherever found, 
and only makes a partial migration when the sage bushes 
become hidden beneath great falls of snow, compelling it 
to seek other localities with less elevation. The Cock of 
the Plains is rarely met with far from the localities covered 
by the sage bush, for the leaves of this plant appear to be 
a necessity for its existence. Although its crop may 
show that other food has been swallowed, yet the major 
portion of the contents will always be sage leaves, and 
these impart a very bitter and disagreeable taste to the 
flesh, if the bird is not drawn immediately after it is killed. 
Besides these leaves, this species feeds on insects, berries, 
wild pease, the pods and blossoms of various plants, and 
grain. 

Its stomach is a soft and membranous bag, and it has, 
properly speaking, no gizzard. This would seem to indi- 
cate that the bird was not a grain feeder, but individuals 
have been killed whose stomachs were filled with wheat, 
showing that, in spite of a lack of grinding power, the 
bird is able to digest grain. Its diet, however, is chiefly 

i 3 6 




3o. Sage Grouse. 



SAGE GROUSE. 137 

leaves and the tender portions of plants. It is a hardy 
bird, bearing the extremes of heat and cold apparently 
without inconvenience, and I have seen it walking 
leisurely about under the rays of a torrid sun, or exposed 
to the fierce, keen blasts of a December storm that 
would make most creatures seek the nearest shelter. 

During the blizzards and other heavy storms that so 
frequently sweep over the country it inhabits, the Sage 
Cock takes refuge amid the dense clumps of the sage 
bushes, or in the " coulees " or small valleys that inter- 
sect the plains at intervals, where it obtains sufficient 
protection from the blasts. Although this species is so 
large, its plumage harmonizes so well with the bird's 
surroundings that it is at times exceedingly diffi- 
cult to see it, and it is not an unusual occurrence to pass 
within a few feet of one or more Sage Grouse, without 
noticing them at all, if they remain motionless, as they 
generally do. Early in March the pairing season begins, 
and the male commences to court the females. His 
actions at this time are not unlike those of the Pinnated 
and Sharp-tailed Grouse already described, but the air 
sacs on each side of the neck, when inflated, are so 
enormous that the bird appears much more grotesque 
than the males of the other species. These air bladders 
extend both forward and upward, and his head prac- 
tically disappears between them, making his neck seem 
altogether too top-heavy for him to preserve his balance. 
The long pointed feathers of the tail are spread out to 
the fullest extent, the wings trail along the ground, and 
the spiny feathers along the air sacs stand straight out. 
In this ludicrous attitude, which no doubt the bird con- 
siders as the very acme of perfect beauty and attractive- 
ness, he struts before the admiring gaze of the assembled 
hens, uttering subdued guttural sounds. This exhibition 



138 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

having accomplished its legitimate purpose, a suitable 
place is selected for the nest, generally under some sage 
bush. The receptacle for the eggs is a very primitive 
affair, a slight hollow, sparsely lined with grass and a few 
feathers; or sometimes the eggs are dropped upon the 
bare ground. These are quite large, olive-buff in color, 
tinged with green, covered with dots and spots of choco- 
late brown, and vary considerably from each other, some 
being of a pale green tint with sharply defined spots of 
chocolate, others a pale buff without any tinge of green, 
thickly covered with fine chocolate dots, or spotted and 
dotted with the same. These markings are all super- 
ficial and can be easily wiped off, leaving the egg a uni- 
form greenish white. The number usually found in a 
nest varies from seven to seventeen, the latter, however, 
being quite unusual. Ten would seem to be about a fair 
average. 

About three weeks is the period of incubation, and the 
hen is a very close sitter, and will seldom leave her nest 
until almost trodden upon, which occurrence is very 
likely to happen, as it is such a difficult matter to distin- 
guish her from the objects around. While the hen is 
sitting, and also when she is rearing the young, the male 
takes no share in her duties, nor troubles himself in any 
way with her cares and anxieties, but amuses himself in 
the company of other cocks as neglectful of their wives 
as himself, and they do not join the coveys until the 
young have attained their full growth. When half 
grown the flesh of the Sage Hen is very tender and 
palatable, but even then the bird must be drawn as soon 
as killed. It is not always easy to flush these birds, as 
they will run long distances before taking wing, and 
skulk and hide at every opportunity. But when forced 
to rise, they flush with a great fluttering of the wings and 



SAGE GROUSE. 139 

utter a loud kek-kek-kek, which kind of cackle is kept up 
for quite a considerable time. They seem to have diffi- 
culty in getting well on the wing, and rise heavily, wab- 
bling from side to side as if trying to gain an equilibrium, 
but once started they go far and fast enough, with inter- 
mittent quick beats of the pinions and easy sailing on 
motionless wings. 

As a rule the Sage Grouse is not very wild, and a 
covey, when anyone draws near, will at first walk quietly 
along, frequently within easy gunshot, and it is not until 
they are persistently followed, or one suddenly dashes 
into a covey, that they take wing. It requires a hard 
blow to bring them down, and large shot are necessary to 
kill them, for they are capable, even if severely wounded, 
of carrying away large quantities of lead, and will fly a 
long distance, probably not stopping until life is extinct. 
The number in a covey is usually small, much less than is 
observed in many other species of Grouse, ranging, ac- 
cording to my observation, from seven to ten, often not 
over five or six. These are probably the survivors of the 
original brood which has been decimated by adverse 
weather, such as heavy storms and wet seasons, during 
which many chicks succumb to the onslaught of various 
enemies both furred and feathered, not to mention man, 
the most destructive enemy of all. 

In the winter the coveys gather together in great packs; 
sometimes a hundred birds are assembled in one immense 
flock, and great is the commotion and loud the whirring 
and beating of wings and vociferous cackling when from 
any cause they rise in the air. The members of a family 
roost in a circle on the ground, in the manner described 
in the article on Bob White, so that in case of alarm each 
great bird has a fair way of escape directly in front of 
him, without danger of being impeded or incommoded 



140 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

by his neighbor as he rises from the ground. It never 
perches or settles in trees, but sometimes is seen mounted 
on a branch of a sage bush, a few feet from the ground. 
It keeps away from the woods, and is, as its name implies, 
a bird of the plains, a familiar feature of those vast, desert, 
treeless districts, covered by the peculiar pale green sage 
bush. The Sage Grouse may be able to go a long time 
without water, but if it is readily obtained, as when 
they are in the vicinity of a spring or small stream, they 
are accustomed to drink twice a day, in the early morn- 
ing, and again at evening. Sometimes considerable 
numbers are gathered together at such places, espe- 
cially if the localities which contain a supply of water 
are widely separated. Like the Pinnated and Sharp- 
tailed Grouse, members of flocks of the present species 
do not all flush together, but always one or more 
remain after the main body is on the wing; and when 
hunting them, it is not well to take it for granted 
that all have departed until the ground in the vicinity 
has been well searched, for it is pretty certain that 
at least one bird will be found which had vainly con- 
sidered itself securely hidden and safe from discovery. 
The Sage Grouse is a large and heavy bird, the males 
frequently measuring two and a half feet in length, and 
weighing at times as much as eight pounds. The female 
is considerably smaller, so much so that occasionally 
the discrepancy is so great as to cause remark; but 
as may be supposed in such large birds, the indi- 
viduals of neither sex are always of the same size, and 
those of lesser growth can find, if needed, mates not dis- 
proportionate to themselves. It is a splendid bird, 
which any country may be proud to claim as native to 
its boundaries, and may it long be preserved to enliven 
the desolate regions among which it dwells! 



SAGE GROUSE. 141 



CENTROCERCUS UROPHASIANUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — British Columbia and Assiniboia 
in the north to New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada. East to the 
Dakotas, Nebraska, and Colorado, and west to California, 
Oregon, and Washington. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts, light brown or grayish, barred with 
black, dark brown, and grayish, sometimes blotched with black; 
wings, like the back, with borders of tertials, and central streaks 
and bars of some of the coverts, white; primaries, grayish 
brown, lighter on their outer webs; tail, composed of twenty 
cuneate feathers, graduated to a filamentous point, the central 
ones like the back, remainder black, barred with light buff for 
two-thirds their length from the base; top of head and neck, 
grayish buff, barred with black, chin, throat, and cheeks, white, 
spotted on first with black, sometimes this part is all black; a 
blackish line from mouth passes under the eye, and over the ear- 
coverts; a white line extends from behind the eye down side of 
neck; fore-neck, black, bordered with grayish white; chest, gray, 
with the shafts of feathers very stiff and black; flanks, barred 
broadly with blackish brown and buffy white, occasionally a buff 
line in center of black bar, sometimes mottled with black; ab- 
domen and rest of lower parts, jet-black; under tail-coverts, 
black, broadly tipped with white; bill, black. Total length, 
about 28 inches; wing, 13; tail, 13. Weight, 5 to 8 pounds. 

On sides of neck is a loose skin which, in the breeding season, 
is inflated into two enormous yellow sacs, and by the exhaustion 
of the air a loud, booming sound is produced. 

Adult Female. — Like the male, but much smaller, the chin 
and throat, pure white. Total length, about 22 inches; wing, 
io£; tail, 8£. 

Downy Young. — Upper parts, grayish brown, irregularly 
marked and blotched with black, most conspicuous on the head. 
Markings of lower parts indistinctly defined. 



WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 

J N the northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere, 
dwelling amid the snow and desolate places, the 
Willow Grouse ranges throughout the Arctic regions of 
the globe, and is found around the world in the high lati- 
tudes. In the New World it is a resident of the fur 
countries, and dwells from the Arctic Ocean to Sitka and 
the Chilcat Peninsula on the Pacific Coast, and across 
the Continent, in the east, coming down in winter to 
northern New York. In the latter season it is very 
abundant in different portions of Canada. In the spring 
the Ptarmigan descends to the low grounds and the 
male begins his singular maneuvers to entice some 
female to join him. Selecting some particular spot, gen- 
erally a slight elevation, he struts about with lowered 
wings and expanded tail, head thrown back, and the red 
combs over the eyes erect and conspicuous, takes a short 
flight upward, and then sails around in a circle, descend- 
ing slowly on curved wings, alighting usually at or near 
the place from which he arose, uttering all the time short 
quick notes resembling a petulant, hoarse bark. Regain- 
ing his first position he calls in a different note several 
times repeated, and in a few moments again makes his 
circular flight. 

If the birds are numerous in the locality many males 
will be seen executing similar movements, and the air re- 
sounds with their barking notes. In due course the 
females appear in the vicinity, and then the males are ex- 
cited to frenzy and desperate battles occur among them, 

142 . 




3i. Willow Ptarmigan. 



WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 143 

carried on with great energy and undaunted resolution, 
the feathers flying in all directions. The birds at this 
period are usually in the transition plumage from winter 
to summer, some red feathers having already begun 
to appear on the neck, but the regular moult is not 
really completely finished until several weeks later. By 
the middle of May the birds have about all succeeded 
in obtaining mates, and the nesting season begins. A 
shallow depression in the ground is lined loosely with 
dried leaves and grass, and on an average eight or 
nine eggs are deposited; sometimes as many as thir- 
teen and even seventeen have been found in one nest. 
They differ greatly in detail, though having a general 
resemblance. The shape varies from an ovate to an 
elongate ovate, and the ground color from cream to red- 
dish buff, frequently hidden by a mass of dark reddish, 
blackish brown, or black blotches and vermiculations, 
which cover nearly all the shell. Sometimes these are 
small and mingled together in a confused mass, and again 
they are distributed in patches, groups, or singly with 
some indications of form, very irregular though it may 
be, and no two eggs are exactly alike. Occasionally if, 
after the complement of eggs has been laid, they are all 
removed, the hen will deposit another set of about, if not 
quite, the same number. 

The period of incubation is about seventeen days, and 
the chicks follow the parents as soon as hatched. Only 
one brood is raised in a season. Unlike the majority of 
the members of the Grouse family, the male Ptarmigan 
remains constantly in the vicinity of the nest while the 
female is sitting, and expresses the strongest disappro- 
bation of which he is capable at any interference with the 
process of incubation, and especially if an attempt is made 
to carry away the eggs, uttering his hoarse call in angry 



144 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

remonstrance. Both parents are very devoted to, and 
solicitous for, their young, and will permit anyone to 
come very near, indeed almost touch them, when they are 
accompanied by their chicks. The hen sits very close 
during incubation, leaving the nest only for short inter- 
vals, and so unwilling is she to desert her treasures that 
she will permit herself almost to be trodden upon, and 
frequently she has allowed herself to be captured by 
hand rather than secure her own safety by flight. Be- 
fore incubation is finished, she becomes quite denuded 
of feathers on the abdomen. The young are pretty 
creatures, very captivating, as are all chicks, and have a 
downy dress of greenish buff or sulphur yellow, deco- 
rated with chestnut and black. When they are half 
grown they begin to fly, but do not attain their full size 
until late in the autumn. 

Ptarmigan, as it appears to me, are in a constant state 
of moult ; and I have rarely seen a specimen that did not 
have pin-feathers on some part of its body, no matter at 
what period of the year it was killed. The assumption 
of the summer plumage commences on the neck, where a 
few colored feathers appear, and the birds, during the 
transition from the pure white winter garb to the bright 
summer dress, present a curious piebald and mottled ap- 
pearance. They do not all moult at the same time, some 
assuming the complete nuptial dress considerably before 
the rest, and it is difficult to determine whether one sex 
is in advance of the other in moulting, and if so, which 
one it is. The cold rains and damp heavy fogs and mists, 
so prevalent in the regions frequented by these birds, 
cause the death of numbers of the young, to whom a 
complete wetting is usually fatal, and many also perish 
at the loss of the old birds, which have met their fate 
either by gun or snare, when the little creatures were too 



WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 145 

small to take care of themselves. The Indians destroy 
a great many, for chicken Grouse, even if still in the egg, 
is considered a great delicacy by them. 

During the winter Ptarmigan feed on the small twigs 
of the willow and various bushes, and as the snow dis- 
appears, on any berries that may have remained from the 
last autumn, frozen though they may be, and later, on 
insects of various kinds. In the spring the birds make 
a partial migration, coming from the shelter of the valleys 
and forests, where they have passed the winter, into the 
open country when the bare spots left by the vanishing 
snow begin to appear. In the autumn also they seek 
the shelter of the woods and travel to the southward, and 
when the snow has covered the landscape these birds, 
when migrating, assemble in great flocks, sometimes 
amounting to many thousands, and the noise of their 
myriad wings, as the great host rises from the ground, 
makes, as it has been expressed, " both the air and 
earth to tremble." When young the flesh of the Ptar- 
migan is white and delicate, but that of the adult is dark 
and of little flavor, save when the bird has been feeding 
on the buds of the willow, when it is rather bitter. 

Immense numbers are taken in snares by the Esqui- 
maux and Indians of the frozen North; one man 
frequently, in a single day, capturing a sledge-load. 
This great slaughter is accomplished while the birds 
are migrating to or from their summer resorts. A 
number of bushes is set out across the line of their 
march and the branches filled with nooses of sinew, 
and the birds come in such great numbers that they 
are captured in thousands, entering the snares so 
fast that a man cannot kill and release them quickly 
enough. Another method is to take advantage of the 
pugnacity and amorous feeling of the male during 



146 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

the breeding season. A native takes a stuffed skin of 
a cock and secure it to a stick thrust in the body. He 
then seeks a spot where a pair are busily occupied with 
their marital duties, and, fastening a small net, which 
he carries with him, to the ground, places the decoy bird 
near it. In a few moments the live male sees it and 
comes immediately forward ready for a fight, frequently 
seizing the counterfeit and pulling and tugging at it with 
great determination. While so engaged the net is 
dropped over him, and his warfare is soon finished. 

Like the Ruffed Grouse and other members of the 
family, the Ptarmigan frequently passes the night under 
the snow, diving into it head first, and emerging again 
in the morning with a sudden leap into the air. Neither 
when entering or leaving the snow is a foot ever put 
upon it, and this precaution is doubtless to prevent the 
discovery of the bird's hiding place by any quadruped 
who might otherwise be able to track it by following the 
scent left by the feet, and pounce upon it in its sleeping 
quarters. Doubtless many perish in such places by a 
crust forming during the night, when the birds would be 
imprisoned, but probably, in the high latitudes in which 
Ptarmigan usually, dwell, thaws are very infrequent 
and the danger from that source much lessened. The 
change from the summer dress to the pure white one of 
winter takes place in the autumn, and is effected much 
more rapidly than is the assumption of the summer 
plumage. The feathers change on the abdomen first 
and on the back and head last, the reverse of the spring 
moult. In the far North this bird, together with the 
caribou, constitutes the most important food supply 
of the natives of those bleak regions, without which they 
would frequently be in danger of starvation; but the birds 
abound in such numbers, and they are naturally so fear- 



% 




32. Willow Ptarmigan in Winter. 



WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 147 

less and tame, rarely making any very serious effort 
to escape from man (even in more southern localities, 
where they are much hunted), that it is not a very diffi- 
cult matter, even without firearms, to secure at one time 
enough to satisfy the members of a moderately large 
community. 

LA GO PUS LA GO PUS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Arctic regions of both Hemi- 
spheres. In America ranging south to Sitka and British Prov- 
inces, Newfoundland, accidental in New England. 

Adult Male in Summer Plumage. — Top of head, back of neck, 
and entire upper parts, barred with chestnut, ochraceous, and 
black, some feathers having their central portions all black, form- 
ing blotches, and more or less of the feathers tipped with grayish 
white; scapulars and tertialslike the back; primaries, white, with 
dark brown shafts; secondaries, white, with white shafts; in some 
specimens the shafts of the primaries are nearly black, and the 
coloring extends over a portion of the inner web; throat, sides of 
neck, and breast, light chestnut, darkest on lower part of breast, 
barred everywhere except on throat with black; flanks, dark 
brown, barred and mottled with black, occasionally a buff bar 
appearing among the black ones; entire rest of under parts, with 
legs and toes, pure white; upper tail-coverts, like the back; tail, 
black, extreme base and tip, white; bill, black. Total length, 
about 14 inches; wing, 7f ; tail, 5^. 

Some examples have the sides of head, throat, fore-neck, and 
upper parts of breast uniform chestnut, becoming darker at 
times, indeed almost black toward the white under parts. 

Adult Female in Summer Plumage. — Top of head, back of 
neck, and entire upper parts, with upper tail-coverts, black, barred 
with ochraceous, and feathers tipped with white; scapulars, ter- 
tials, and some of the wing-coverts, like the back ; throat, sides 
and front of neck, buff, with an ochraceous tinge on cheeks, 
barred irregularly with black, the bars taking more the form of 
spots on the throat; entire rest of under parts and under tail- 
coverts, buff, coarsely barred with black, some feathers having 
nearly white tips; primaries and secondaries, white, the former 
with dark brown shafts; tail, brownish black, tipped with white, 



148 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

and base also white ; legs and toes covered with brownish white 
feathers; bill, black. Total length, about 14 inches; wing, 7f ; 
tail, 5 ±. 

Downy Young. — General color of body, olive-buff, tinged with 
ochraceous on breast, back, and wings; throat and under parts 
lightest; top of head and occiput, chestnut, bordered with black; 
spot on lores, ear-coverts, line down hind-neck and broader lines 
on back, black. 

Winter Plumage. — Entire body, pure white; tail, black, 
tipped with white. 



ALLEN'S PTARMIGAN. 

HP HIS bird, which is an inhabitant of Newfoundland, 
* has been separated from the Willow Grouse as a sub- 
species on what must be considered as very slight and in- 
sufficient grounds. It is a very common species in the 
island, frequenting similar localities as does the Willow 
Grouse on the continent of America, and in its economy 
and habits in no way differs from that species. It is 
called Partridge by some, and feeds on seeds and buds 
and leaves of various trees and bushes; and great num- 
bers of them are killed annually. It bears a very close 
resemblance to the Willow Grouse, and requires more 
than an expert to discover wherein it differs; the chief 
and about the only perceptible distinction claimed is that 
the shafts of the secondaries and primaries are black in- 
stead of white. The description given of the habits of 
the Willow Grouse in the previous article will, in nearly 
all particulars, answer perfectly well for the present bird. 
From the specimens which I have examined at various 
times during the past thirty years I fail to find any which 
present characters that would enable the Newfoundland 
bird to be distinguished from the Willow Grouse of other 
localities. The describer of Allen's Ptarmigan estab- 
lished the race upon the " shafts of both primaries and 
secondaries black, and by having the wing feathers, even 
some of the coverts marked and mottled with blackish." 
These characters do not seem to be reliable, and there 
are at present before me two males belonging to the 
collection of the American Museum of Natural History, 



l£0 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

New York, numbered 26,857 and 26,858 respectively, 
from Humbert River, Newfoundland, collected by L. A. 
Zerega on September 15, 1886, which are so like the 
Fort Chimo bird described under Lagopus lagopus that 
the description there given will answer perfectly well for 
them. The shafts of the secondaries in both are pure 
white, and the shafts of primaries are a blackish brown, 
this color extending a little upon the webs near the tips. 
The color of the upper parts is almost identically the 
same, but one of the Newfoundland birds has more 
feathers tipped with grayish white, which is to be ex- 
pected, as the specimen was killed five days later in the 
year than the Fort Chimo bird. If there is a distinct 
race of the Willow Grouse in Newfoundland, then the 
specific form is also found there, and it is very unlikely 
that birds from the same island, so closely allied, would 
maintain recognizable characters sufficient to separate 
them, when it is notorious that individuals even of the 
same flock vary so greatly from each other, both in color 
and markings, that it is practically impossible to procure 
two exactly alike at any season of the year. When writ- 
ing my monograph of the Tetraoninae I had a number 
of Newfoundland birds sent to me Ly the late Professor 
Baird, and I was unable then to discover any character 
sufficient to separate them from other Willow Grouse, 
and before we can accept a new race from that island 
as an established fact I think other and better characters 
than any yet known will have to be established. 




33- Rock Ptarmigan. 



ROCK PTARMIGAN. 

A LONG the Alaskan coast, from the peninsula and 
• Behring Sea, throughout the mountains of the in- 
terior, and across the Arctic regions of North America 
to Hudson Bay, southern Labrador, and the island of 
Greenland, the Rock Ptarmigan is a constant resident; 
frequenting low hills, or higher ranges in the summer, 
going down to the valleys during winter for shelter from 
the severity of the Northern climate at that season. It 
is also found on the Barren Grounds (the height of land 
lying between the Anderson and Wilmot Horton or Mac- 
Farlane rivers and thence inward to the western sea-bank 
of Franklin Bay), but is not so plentiful there as the 
Willow Grouse. It is more a bird of the mountains, and 
prefers to remain on elevated summits throughout the 
summer and amid precipitous slopes and rugged cliffs. 
It is a smaller bird than the Willow Grouse, and can 
always be distinguished from it by the black stripe run- 
ning from the bill to the eye, which is present in both 
the summer and winter dress of the males. 

In Alaska nesting begins in April, but in the eastern 
part of the birds' range not until the middle of June, 
sometimes even later. The nest resembles that of the 
Willow Ptarmigan, but the number of eggs is less, about 
seven, though occasionally many more are found in one 
nest — whether the product of one hen or not it would be 
difficult to say, but the probabilities are in favor of such 
a supposition, as I am not aware of any instance where 
two hens have been observed to occupy the same nest. 



15 2 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

The eggs are hardly distinguishable from those of the 
Willow Grouse, but are smaller, and the markings rather 
less inclined to run into blotches, and possibly more dis- 
tinct on that account. The female, like the Willow Ptar- 
migan, sits very closely on her nest, and it is very 
difficult to discover her, even when she is in an exposed 
position. During the mating season the male goes 
through similar antics to the Willow Grouse, uttering 
harsh, guttural notes in the air and descending on stif- 
fened wings. At this time the combs over the eyes 
become a brilliant orange red, and at each end is a fila- 
mentous fringe, very conspicuous. He struts also in a 
similar manner to his relative, with spread tail and trail- 
ing wings, the neck frequently outstretched and lowered, 
and uttering at the same time a curious croak. 

This species does not collect in large flocks, small 
parties usually going together as if they were only the 
members of one family, which is probably the case, and 
there is less pugnacity exhibited than is witnessed among 
the Willow Grouse. The change of plumage from win- 
ter to summer and vice versa takes place about the same 
time as in the other species, and these birds always seem 
to have pin-feathers amid their plumage, as if the per- 
fect costume had never at any time been quite attained, 
and this, I believe, is the fact among the majority of 
individuals, for even when one part of the body is in full 
dress other portions are in a transition state, and when 
these last are perfected, the first have already begun to 
change. And if a bird succeeds in arranging himself 
entirely in a full suit, he must be able to wear it but for 
a very brief period. The habits of this species are very 
similar to the Willow Grouse. 



/* 



34- Rock Ptarmigan in Winter. 



ROCK PTARMIGAN. 153 



LA GOP US R UPESTRIS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Arctic America, Alaska to Labra- 
dor, south to Gulf of St. Lawrence, Greenland. 

Adult Male in Summer. — Head, neck, and upper parts, gray, 
barred with black, and irregular rusty bars on the head, back of 
neck, upper back and scapulars, and black blotches on upper 
part of back; wings, like the back; primaries and outer second- 
aries, white, with brownish black shafts on the primaries; upper 
tail-coverts, gray, barred with black, and occasionally rusty, some 
feathers with white tips; tail, blackish brown, lighter on margins; 
breast, dark brown, feathers barred with white and black; entire 
rest of under parts and legs, pure white; lores, black; bill, black. 
Total length, 14 inches; wing, 7^-; tail, \\. Specimen from 
Labrador. 

Adult Female in Summer. — Shot July 31. Head, entire upper 
parts, and wings, black, irregularly barred with white and deep 
buff, feathers generally tipped with white, broadest on upper 
tail-coverts, many of which have their outer margins deep buff; 
tail, smoky-brown, tipped with white; throat, breast, and flanks, 
ochraceous, barred with black, some white feathers showing; 
middle of abdomen, white; crissum and under tail-coverts, och- 
raceous, barred with black; feathers on thighs and legs, white; 
primaries, white, with pale brown shafts; secondaries and most 
of the wing-coverts, also white; bill, black. Total length, about 
13 inches; wing, 7; tail, 4^. Specimen from Quickiock Falls, 
Labrador. 



REINHARDT'S PTARMIGAN. 

VFORTHERN Labrador, the islands on the west of the 
1 ^ Cumberland Gulf, Greenland, and both shores down 
to Hudson Strait, include the range of this Ptarmigan. 
It is common in Greenland and in the more elevated por- 
tions of Labrador. It appears to be a bird of the open 
and barren country, differing in this respect from the 
other species just preceding, which pass much of the 
year in wooded districts. The coveys scatter in May, 
when nesting and courting begin. Mr. Turner, who has 
had excellent opportunities for observing this bird in 
Labrador, says that at this period the male does not 
spring into the air like the Willow Grouse, but, with 
spreading tail and dragging wings, runs around the 
object of his affections, or else, with his breast pressed 
against the ground and outstretched neck, he strives to 
push himself along with his feet. At such times his 
feathers are all ruffled, his combs swollen and erect, and, 
while executing the most astonishing antics, such as toss- 
ing himself in the air unsupported by his wings, and even 
rolling over and over, as if quite crazy, he continues to 
utter a peculiar, growling kurr-kurr-\ike sound. The 
males are very pugnacious and fight desperately, and 
keep it up until one is completely exhausted, while the 
feathers that cover the ground attest the fierceness of 
the struggle. The hen seems quite indifferent as to the 
result of these conflicts, and shows little of the affection 
toward the male which he exhibits for her. The young 
are very delicate when first hatched, and doubtless many 




35. Reinhardt's Ptarmigan. 



REINHARDT'S PTARMIGAN. 155 

perish in the sudden squalls of that changeable climate. 
They utter a soft pe-pe-pe> and are at first indistin- 
guishable from the young of the Willow Grouse. 

The food of this bird is the usual variety of seeds, 
insects, leaves, berries, and buds of different plants and 
trees, and one individual had his crop filled with sphag- 
num moss. They go in small coveys, and but one brood 
is raised in a season; each covey being composed, proba- 
bly, of members of the same brood. The eggs, deposited 
in June in a nest similar to that of the Rock Ptarmigan, 
are absolutely indistinguishable from those of that 
species. 

LA GO PUS RUPESTRIS REINHARDTI. 

Geographical Distribution. — Northern Labrador, and islands 
on the west shore of Cumberland Gulf, Greenland. 

Adult Male in Summer. — Very similar in general pattern of 
markings, and in coloration to L. rupestris, but not so regularly 
barred above, and the bars much coarser. 

Adult Female in Summer. — Nautilik, Cumberla7id Gulf. — In 
general appearance this is a black and white bird, with the 
black predominating; top of head, back, rump, and upper tail- 
coverts, black, with from one to three buffy white spots on the 
outer edge of the webs, and each feather more or less distinctly 
tipped with white; a few feathers, mottled with pale buff and 
white for about one-third their length from the tip, are scattered 
over the back, these probably belonging to the plumage charac- 
teristic of autumn, and which will next be assumed; the throat, 
sides of head, and neck all around are buffy white, barred nar- 
rowly with black; scapulars, most of the secondaries, and greater 
wing-coverts are colored like the back, but all the feathers are 
tipped with white, giving this part a black and white appear- 
ance, with only occasionally pale buff spots showing; feathers of 
under parts, flanks, and under tail-coverts, barred with black and 
light buff, and tipped with white, but the black predominates; 
the flank feathers have much broader bars of both black and pale 
buff, and the latter is more conspicuous here than on any other 
part of the bird; tail, seal brown, edged with white at the tips; 



156 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

legs, white; bill, dark horn color, lightest at tip; claws, horn 
color. Total length, 11^ inches; wing, 7; tail, 4^; tarsus, 1^. 
Exposed culmen, half inch. 

A Greenland specimen from Sukkertoppen, also an adult female, 
varies from the above described bird, in having more buff on the 
under parts, and considerable white on the abdomen; the flank 
feathers are also more buff, as the bars are decidedly buff. 
The date of capture of this example is not given and it is impos- 
sible to tell whether it has quite assumed the breeding plumage, 
or is passing from it, but as there are no feathers of an autumn 
dress visible it is probable that the breeding dress is not yet 
completed; the autumn dress seems to be ochraceous, mottled 
with black, and black blotches interspersed on the upper parts. 







36. Welch's Ptarmigan. 



WELCH'S PTARMIGAN. 

'"pHIS may be called the Rock Ptarmigan of New- 
* foundland, and is a dark-grayish bird with a bluish 
tinge to the plumage, which has been likened to the 
color of the Sooty Grouse, and all the feathers are dotted 
with blackish. It is very numerous in the rocky portions 
of the island it inhabits, distributed among the moun- 
tains in the interior, and is rather local, not going far 
from the place in which it was reared. It may be con- 
sidered the Alpine species of Newfoundland Ptarmigan, 
not often met with below the line of spruce forest, except 
when it descends in winter to feed on the buds of various 
trees growing in the lowlands. It is sometimes called 
the Mountain Partridge, and occasionally associates with 
the Willow Grouse. Very little is known of its habits. 

LA GO PUS RUPESTRIS WELCHI. 

Geographical Distribution. — Mountains of Newfoundland. 

Adult Male in Summer. — Entire upper parts, and upper 
tail-coverts, brownish gray, vermiculated and spotted with 
black, many feathers having white tips, and some with white 
bars near the tips; front, chin, upper part of throat, cheeks, 
and back of neck, barred with black and white; top of head, 
rufous, blotched with black; lores, black; tail, blackish brown, 
lighter toward the edges of the webs; a number of feathers barred 
with black and white on upper part of breast; on lower breast, 
belly, and under tail-coverts, white, interspersed on the first 
with numerous feathers colored like the breast ; thighs and 
feathers of tarsi, white; on toes, yellowish white; wing-coverts, 
like the back; bill and claws, horn color. Total length, finches; 
wing, 7-J; tail, 4^; tarsus, \\\ exposed culmen, \ inch. 



158 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

Adult Female in Summer. — The female in her summer dress 
is a very different bird, and has the top of the head broadly- 
barred with black and deep yellow or buff; back and sides of 
neck and head, yellowish white, barred or spotted with black; 
entire upper parts, including upper tail-coverts, vermiculated 
with black and deep buff (some feathers almost black), edged 
and tipped with buff or white, this being particularly the case 
upon the upper part of back near the neck; wings, like the back, 
but primaries and secondaries white, the shafts of former, brown; 
tail, dark brown, the feathers with white bases and white edges 
to the tips ; four median feathers, black, irregularly barred with 
white, and tipped with white ; throat, yellowish white, becoming 
pale buff on the breast, the latter broadly barred in waving lines, 
with black ; flanks, also buff, with broad brownish black bars ; 
lower breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, buffy white, with oc- 
casional black bars visible ; thighs, white ; feathers of legs and feet, 
yellowish white; bill and claws, pale horn color. Total length, 
about \2\ inches; wing, 6f ; tail, 4|; bill at gape, f; tarsus, if. 

Adult Female in Autumn resembles the summer plumage of 
the male, but has a generally more grayish appearance, and with 
the back more conspicuously and profusely blotched with black; 
no indication of black upon the lores, but upon the flanks are oc- 
casional feathers broadly barred with black and white, the latter 
sometimes tinged with yellow, as is characteristic of the summer 
dress of the adult female; the throat and neck are more conspicu- 
ously barred with black and white than in the male, and have 
more the appearance of a white ground barred with black; the 
abdomen and under tail-coverts are pure white, and the tail 
feathers are tipped with white. 

Winter Plumage, pure white, with a black loral streak in the 
male. 




fcapthi. Slve^uvcL, 



37. Nelson's Ptarmigan. 



NELSON'S PTARMIGAN. 

'"pHIS is a little-known race of Ptarmigan, specimens 
* of which were procured by Mr. Nelson on Unalaska, 
one of the Aleutian Islands. It is said by Mr. Turner 
to be very abundant there, and also in Uminak, Akutan, 
and Akun, other islands of the same chain, and is a resi- 
dent wherever found, seldom leaving the island in which 
it was born. It prefers rocky ledges, but roosts and rears 
its young in the valleys. The mating season commences 
in May and lasts about three weeks, and the nest is 
usually placed in the tall grass. It is a very careless 
affair, composed of a little grass and some feathers from 
the hen's breast, and before incubation is completed the 
eggs are generally lying on the bare ground. The num- 
ber of these varies from nine to seventeen, but eleven is 
the usual number. The period of incubation was not 
ascertained. The birds never go in large flocks, those 
that were seen being apparently the parents and their 
brood of a previous year. 

LA GO PUS RUPESTRIS NELSON L 

Geographical Distribution.— Islands of Unalaska, Unimak, 
Akutan, and Akun. Aleutian Chain. 

Adult Male in Summer. — General color of entire plumage, 
dark russet, finely vermiculated with black, the center of the 
feathers showing occasionally as blotches; feathers of head and 
neck, tipped with ochraceous, giving this part a lighter hue than 
the rest; lores and space beneath the eyes, black; comb over 
eye, scarlet; throat, white, barred with black; jugulum, breast, 
and flanks, much lighter than the back, vermiculated with black, 



160 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

and with occasionally apical black bars and white tips; inner 
secondaries and tertials, like the back; wing-coverts generally, 
and many of the secondaries and primaries, white, the latter 
with brownish shafts; abdomen and rest of under parts, white, 
the former mottled with black; under tail-coverts, white; thighs, 
white; bill, black; claws, dark horn color. Total length, 13^ 
inches; wing, 7-f; tail, 4$; tarsus, if; bill, 1; exposed cul- 
men, -§. 

Adult Female in Spring. — Head and upper parts, tawny och- 
raceous, almost tawny, barred with black, and most of the 
feathers tipped with white ; tertials and innermost secondaries, 
similarly marked and colored, but with not so bright a hue; sec- 
ondaries, most of wing-coverts, and primaries, white, with pale 
brown shafts; middle tail feathers, like the back, remainder, 
clove brown, with white bases and tips; chin, white; throat, 
breast, and flanks, bright ochraceous, barred with black, and 
many feathers with white tips; center of breast and belly, white; 
under tail-coverts, pale ochraceous, barred regularly with black; 
thighs and tarsi, white; bill and claws, black. Total length, 
13^ inches; wing, 7|; tail, 4^; tarsus, 1; bill, f; exposed cul- 
men, \ inch. 

The females of this subspecies vary in color, some being very 
much lighter than the one just described, with correspondingly 
broader black and white markings, and the white much clearer 
and purer. 

The Winter Plumage is pure white in both sexes, but the 
male has a black loral streak. 







38. Turner's Ptarmigan. 



TURNER'S PTARMIGAN. 

AN inhabitant of the western part of the Aleutian 
** chain, this bird is quite numerous on Atka, Am- 
chitka, and Attu islands. It was discovered by Mr. 
Turner, who has furnished all that is known about it. 
He says that he was struck with its great size, shape of 
the bill, and length of claws, and it frequents the low- 
lands and hills of the western islands, and builds its nest 
among the rank grasses near the beach. This is care- 
lessly made of dried grass and similar materials, and the 
eggs, varying in number from eleven to seventeen, are 
darker in color than those of the Rock Ptarmigan, and 
slightly smaller than those of the Willow Grouse. In 
habits it resembles the first species. On account of 
the number of foxes on Attu this bird frequents higher 
elevations than it is accustomed to do on the other 
islands. The natives assert that this Ptarmigan is also 
found on Agattu and, on account of the absence of foxes, 
is quite numerous on that island. 

LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS ATKENSIS. 

Geographical Distribution. — Islands of Atka, Amchitka, Attu 
and possibly Agattu of the Aleutian Chain. 

Adult Male in Summer. — Head and neck, tawny ochraceous, 
barred with black, rest of upper parts, dark russet on basal two- 
thirds of feathers, remainder gray, very finely vermiculated and 
dotted with black; some small black spots upon the scapulars, 
but there is a general absence of the black spots upon the back, 
so conspicuous in L. r. townsendi; upper tail-coverts, like the 
back; tail, clove brown, feathers tipped with white widest on the 

161 



162 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

central feathers; greater wing-coverts, scapulars, and innermost 
secondaries like the back; rest of wing, pure white, with black 
shafts to the primaries; the throat is white, sides of face and 
breast, like the head and neck, but the breast and flanks are 
more finely barred and vermiculated, while scattered about the 
sides of head and along the flanks are many white feathers; rest 
of under parts, thighs, and tarsi, pure white; loral space, black; 
a crimson or scarlet comb over the eye; bill, black; claws, 
horn color, with white tips. Total length, 13! inches; wing, 7f ; 
tail, 4f ; tarsus, i{\; exposed culmen, f. 

It is possible that this specimen is not in what may be called 
perfect summer plumage, as the throat is white. This part 
would undoubtedly, for a few days at least, be colored like the 
neck, but the plumage of these birds varies so from day to day 
that it is only by accident that one is procured in what may be 
termed the full and perfect summer dress. 

Female in Summer. — Head and entire upper parts, and most 
of the wing, ochraceous, barred with black, the bars narrower 
and more numerous on lower back and upper tail-coverts, with 
most of the feathers tipped with white; primaries and second- 
aries, white, the former with blackish brown shafts; throat, 
neck, breast, flanks, and under parts, generally including under 
tail-coverts, ochraceous, barred irregularly and narrowly with 
black ; tail, clove-brown, with outer web finely mottled with buff 
for two-thirds the basal length of central feathers, and growing 
gradually less on the lateral ones ; bill, black ; claws, black, with 
white tips. Total length, 13-J inches; wing, 7f ; tail, 4$-; tarsus, if. 
Winter Plumage is- pure white, with black loral streak in the 
male. 







39- Townsend's Ptarmigan. 



TOWNSEND'S PTARMIGAN. 

^PHIS is another species of Ptarmigan that has been 
* seen by few naturalists in its wild state, and was 
brought from the Aleutian islands of Kyska and Adak 
by Mr. Townsend, after whom it has been named. Only 
about twenty specimens were procured, and the visitors' 
sojourn at the islands was too brief for any particular 
knowledge of the birds' habits to be gained. 

Probably, like other of its relatives in the Aleutian 
chain, it will never become an object for the sportsman's 
pursuit, the island on which it lives being situated too 
far away from all civilization to be easily accessible. 

L AGO PUS RUPESTRIS TOWNSENDL 

Geographical Distribution. — Kyska and Adak Islands, Aleu- 
tian Chain. 

Adult Male in Summer. — General color of entire upper parts, 
including head and neck, together with the breast and flanks, 
raAv umber, with a tinge of russet, finely vermiculated with black 
on lower back and rump, more coarsely marked on the other 
parts with black blotches on the head, neck, upper part of back 
and wings; feathers of back, rump, and wings tipped with white; 
some of these white tips are finely spotted with black, giving to 
them a gray appearance; the outer secondaries, tertials, and 
most of the wing-coverts and primaries, pure white, the last hav- 
ing black shafts; the long upper tail-coverts are marked and 
colored like the back, with white tips; tail, clove-brown, nearly 
black, the feathers tipped with white, broadest on the middle 
pair, and decreasing on the outer ones, where it is either hardly 
perceptible or absent altogether; throat, white, mixed with a few 
colored feathers; breast, sides of neck, and flanks, ochraceous, 

163 



164 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

barred with black, the bars broader and more conspicuous on 
neck; abdomen and belly, white; under tail-coverts, mummy 
brown, barred with black; loral space and ring around the eye, 
black, and a scarlet comb above the eye; side of neck, of a 
slightly paler hue than back or breast. Total length, 13^ 
inches; wing, 7^; tail, 4; tarsus, 1^; exposed culmen, \. 

Adult Female in Summer. — Entire upper parts, including 
scapulars, tertials, and upper tail-coverts, ochraceous, blotched 
and barred with black, most of the feathers tipped with white, 
except those on hind-neck, which are tipped with ochraceous; 
tail, square, clove-brown, the four median feathers tipped with 
white; secondaries, wing-coverts, and primaries, white, with 
black shafts, except those of inner secondaries, which are white; 
throat, white; breast, sides of body, and under tail-coverts, och- 
raceous buff, lighter than the back, and broadly barred with 
black; center of breast, abdomen, and belly, pure white; thighs 
and tarsus covered with white feathers; bill and claws, black. 
Total length, \2\ inches; wing, 6|; tail, 4^; tarsus, i T y, ex- 
posed culmen, \. 

The winter dress of both sexes is white. 



^«# 



«*a^ 



40. Evermann's Ptarmigan. 



EVERMANN'S PTARMIGAN. 

"~pHIS peculiarly marked and very distinct species has 
* as yet only been obtained on Attu Island, one of the 
Aleutian chain, situated near the western extremity, and 
about 1400 miles from Unalaska. It may be restricted 
entirely to this island. There is no other Ptarmigan 
known to inhabit any portion of North America which 
can be mistaken for this bird, and it presents in its colora- 
tion but little resemblance to any of the other species. 
It was first obtained by Professor Evermann, and only 
nine specimens have as yet been procured. Little or 
nothing is known of its habits, which, however, doubt- 
less do not differ from those of other Ptarmigan. 

LA GO PUS EVERMANNI. 

Geographical Distribution. — Attu Island, Aleutian Chain. 

Adult Male in Summer. — Forehead, white; top of head and 
back of neck, black, finely barred with tawny; loral space, 
breast, and entire upper parts, tertials, innermost secondaries, 
and upper tail-coverts, black, with faint vermiculations of russet 
on rump, upper tail-coverts, and edges of tertials; sides of face 
black and white, mixed; comb over eye, scarlet; white feathers 
of the winter dress are interspersed among those of the back and 
upper part of the breast; most of wing-coverts, secondaries, and 
entire primaries, pure white, with the shafts of the primaries 
pale brown; tail, clove brown, almost black, with narrow white 
tips to the feathers; entire under parts, including under tail- 
coverts, pure white; bill and claws, black. Total length, 
I3f inches ; wing, 7^; tail, 5|; tarsus, if; exposed culmen, \. 

This specimen, as indeed was the case with all those obtained, 
is not in complete summer dress, as is proved by the few white 

165 



1 66 



GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



feathers scattered among the black ones, and also by the white 
forehead. In the perfect breeding plumage these white feathers 
would probably be absent. 

Adult Fetnale in Summer. — Entire plumage of body, ochrace- 
ous, palest on the throat, blotched and barred on the back with 
black, and the feathers having white tips; on the breast and 
flanks the black blotches are much fewer, but the black bars are 
broader, and there are no white tips on the breast feathers, but 
those on the abdomen and some on the flanks are broadly tipped 
with white; under tail-coverts, ochraceous, barred with black; 
the tertials, inner secondaries, and some of the greater wing- 
coverts, ochraceous, like the back, barred and tipped with white; 
remainder of wing and primaries, pure white, with the shafts of 
the latter, pale brown; bill and claws, black. Total length, 
i2f inches; wing, 6 T 9 ¥ ; tail, 4f ; tarsus, if; exposed culmen, T V 

In winter both sexes turn white. 




m 



mm^m 






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■-MB&*? M 



^^srf" 




^AwliuSKehbavA. 



41. White-Tailed Ptarmigan. 



WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. 

AN inhabitant of the high mountain ranges, both of 
certain parts of the United States and the countries 
lying to the north of our border, this beautiful bird is 
not very often met with below the timber line. It is the 
only species of Ptarmigan having a white tail. It ranges 
from Alaska through British Columbia, and the 
Western part of the United States to New Mexico, 
where it has been obtained at Taos. In certain parts 
of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado it is not 
uncommon near the summits of the mountains. It 
may be regarded as truly an Alpine species. It does 
not migrate, and wherever found there it breeds, and 
descends perhaps a few thousand feet when the 
weather is very severe, but seldom below 6000 or 7000 
feet. I have met with this species in the Cascade Range 
in autumn, where it is usually found in small com- 
panies of perhaps half a dozen, occasionally twice this 
number. They were not what may be called tame, unlike 
the Willow Grouse in this respect, but were always very 
uneasy at my presence, and ran about with uplifted tail 
as if uncertain which way to fly, but when they once got 
started there seemed to be no farther difficulty in their 
minds as to the proper direction, which I noticed never 
led near where I stood. Sometimes I have seen them 
light on the bare limbs of a stunted tree or large bush at 
the edge of the timber line, where they stood perfectly 
motionless for quite a length of time, observing every 
movement I made, and then suddenly burst away with 

167 



1 68 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

great speed, uttering a low cackle as they flew. They 
are very skillful in concealing themselves, either squat- 
ting in the snow with only the head exposed to view, or 
else crouching behind some stone or large bowlder. In 
summer their peculiar gray plumage assimilates so well 
to the hue of the ground and the moss-covered stones 
lying about in all directions that it is next to impossible 
to perceive them, and at this period, especially during the 
breeding season, they rarely move when approached, per- 
haps only going a few feet on one side to avoid being 
stepped upon. 

In winter their white dress makes them so absolutely 
indistinguishable from the snow that, unless they move, 
a person could pass close to them and never notice them 
at all. The nesting season commences in June, and the 
eggs are deposited in a slight depression in the ground, 
lined with grass and a few feathers from the bird's breast, 
or in a patch of short grass pressed down by the hen 
into a circular shape. These so-called nests are always 
at a very high elevation, in some localities rarely below 
12,000 feet, and eight to ten is the usual number of the 
eggs. They have a ground color varying from a creamy 
to a salmon buff, with spots and blotches of reddish and 
chocolate brown, but not nearly so completely covered 
with markings as is the case with the eggs of the other 
species of Ptarmigan. When incubating, the hen leaves 
the nest with great reluctance, and will often remain 
when the danger of being trodden upon by both man 
and beast is imminent, and, when she does move, will 
go but a little way before she stops and watches the 
intruder, expressing her disapprobation at having her 
eggs handled by uttering a low, rolling note. It has been 
said that instances have occurred when a hen has per- 
mitted herself to be lifted from the nest and, when re- 



WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. 169 

leased, made no effort to fly away, but waited until she 
was permitted to return to her charge. But one brood 
is raised in a year, and the chicks, when first hatched, 
are curiously striped with bands of white and blackish 
brown. The hen defends them with great courage, not 
hesitating to fly directly into the face of anybody who 
may attempt to catch one of her brood, and strikes as vio- 
lently as she is able with her wings. At other times 
she uses all the artifices common to game birds to draw 
one away from the vicinity of her young. 

By the latter part of August the brood is pretty fully 
grown, unless from some cause the birds have been 
hatched later than usual. They are delicate at first, and 
doubtless many perish from severe weather, or by getting 
their downy plumage wet, which generally has a fatal 
effect. This Ptarmigan, also called the White, Snow, or 
Mountain Quail, by the miners and others who penetrate 
its retreats, feeds upon leaves and tender stalks of vari- 
ous plants growing in the Alpine regions amid which 
it dwells, also on insects of different kinds, and in 
winter on the buds and leaves of firs and pines. Its 
flesh is much lighter than that of other Ptarmigan, and is 
about as palatable as is theirs, which sometimes is pretty 
tasteless. When much hunted the White-tailed Ptar- 
migan becomes very wild, and it is difficult to approach 
it within shot. It makes no extended flights, but 
runs on ahead, dodging behind rocks and bushes, stop- 
ping at times to watch its pursuer, and occasionally fly- 
ing a short distance so as just to keep beyond the range 
of the gun. If persistently followed for a considerable 
period, it is then very apt to remove itself from the local- 
ity, at least for a brief period. A solitary bird is not apt 
to try and make its escape by flight, and can be flushed 
with difficulty, generally trying to steal away quietly, 



170 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

or else remaining motionless, evidently hoping to escape 
in that way from being seen. But if several are together 
they will usually take wing, making a great cackling 
as they rise and fly off. 

The flight of this species is firm and well sustained, 
consisting of a rapid beating of the wings, succeeded by 
a sailing movement, and can be continued for a long dis- 
tance; but, as a rule, the birds alight after proceeding 
for a few hundred yards. The White-tailed Ptarmigan, 
like its relatives, appears to be continually in moult. It 
begins to show a few of the blackish brown vermiculated 
feathers in March, which appear very conspicuously amid 
the white plumage. The change from out the winter dress 
is effected very slowly, and the perfect summer plumage 
is not assumed until about June. In September it begins 
to change again, the feathers on the under parts being 
the first that are replaced with white ones. There is no 
regularity in this moult, as white feathers appear in 
different parts of the body after the process has once 
commenced; but it goes on so deliberately that little 
difference in the bird's appearance is noticeable for some 
weeks, save perhaps the general hue is somewhat lighter, 
and it is quite late in the autumn — perhaps, at times, even 
the middle of winter — before the pure white dress is com- 
pleted. During all this period of changing plumage no 
two individuals are alike. The tail remains white all the 
year round, and renders the bird very conspicuous dur- 
ing the summer months. 

Although, as I have stated, it is rarely seen in the Cas- 
cade Mountains in flocks of any size, yet farther south, 
as in the mountains of Colorado, it associates in com- 
panies composed sometimes of a hundred individuals or 
more. This, however, seems to be an aggregation of 
birds mostly not fully grown, a number of broods con- 



1/ ; 


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I 








" 




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■ it 



42. White-Tailed Ptarmigan in Winter. 



WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. 1 71 

gregated together, but even in these localities I am not 
aware that these flocks keep unbroken during the winter. 
It would appear to be more an incident of the breeding 
season. The males are very pugnacious, and during the 
period of courtship desperate battles frequently occur 
when two cocks happen to meet. In winter, when pur- 
sued, this Ptarmigan will dive into the snow, and doubt- 
less, like the Ruffed Grouse and other gallinaceous 
birds, it may be accustomed to enter a snow bank to 
sleep and obtain protection in that way both from the 
severity of the weather and from whatever enemies may 
be prowling amid the lofty heights among which it 
dwells. 

LA GO PUS LEUCURUS. 

Geographical Distribution.— -High range of mountains from 
Liard River, British America, and Western United States to 
New Mexico. 

Adult Male. — Upper parts, golden gray or grayish buff, irreg- 
ularly barred and vermiculated with black; top of head, black, 
with tips of feathers light brown; lores, black; rest of head and 
neck, finely barred with black and buff, and feathers tipped with 
white; cheeks, chin, and throat, white, spotted with black, only 
sparsely on the throat; breast, barred with black and umber- 
brown; flanks, similar, but black bars finer and very irregular, 
and black vermiculations ; rest of lower parts, white; legs and 
toes covered with white feathers; tail, white; bill, black. Total 
length, about 12^ inches; wing, 6-J. 

Adult Female. — Resembles the male, but with perhaps more 
buff. There seems to be, however, very little difference in the 
coloring of the sexes. Dimensions, about the same as those of 
the male. 



WILD TURKEY. 

T N the United States there are at present recognized 
four different kinds of Wild Turkeys, resembling each 
other, as would naturally be supposed, in many par- 
ticulars, but each having its own peculiarities and well- 
defined limits of dispersion. The present species is the 
well-known bird of the Eastern portion of the Union, 
north of Florida, and formerly was much more exten- 
sively distributed than it is at the present day. From 
various causes, but chiefly too much killing, it has entirely 
disappeared from many localities in which it was formerly 
abundant, and become greatly lessened in others, and its 
range is yearly being gradually more restricted, as 
though the fate that has befallen so many wild creatures 
would also, in an altogether too brief period, overtake 
this noble bird, and another name be added to the list of 
the members of our Fauna that have become extinct. 
In the Atlantic States, where it formerly was found from 
southern Maine to Florida, a few are now left in certain 
parts of Pennsylvania, which is its northern limit, becom- 
ing more abundant to the southward. Some are still 
met with in wooded districts of Ohio, in the southern 
parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, and the States lying 
on the west side of the Mississippi to Texas. It is com- 
mon in the Indian Territory, and not scarce in the Gulf 
States and parts of Texas. It used to be frequently met 
with in certain portions of Canada, but if any remain to- 
day they would probably be found in southwestern 
Ontario. 

172 



WILD TURKEY. 173 

The Wild Turkey is a bird of the forest, and loves to 
dwell in the thick portions of the woods, or in the depths 
of the swamps and similar retreats, where it is far re- 
moved from man, and little liable to be disturbed by his 
attentions. In places where it has not been persecuted 
by hunters, or frequently shot at, if there are any such 
remaining at the present day, the Turkey is not apt to be 
any wilder or more wary than other forest creatures, and 
it has been known to approach the dwellings and feed 
among the tame turkeys and other domestic fowl. But 
when it has learned man's ways, and that his presence 
means death to any animal within the range of his gun, 
no more cunning, suspicious, wary animal lives than the 
Wild Turkey, nor one better able to take care of it- 
self, though too often all its efforts to preserve its life 
avail nothing against the ingenuity and persistency of its 
human foe. The nesting season of this splendid bird 
commences according to the latitude of its habitat, from 
February, in the southern portion of its range, until June 
in the northern. The males are polygamous, and every- 
one is familiar with their pompous strut and attitude 
during the courting season. The hen hides her nest 
very carefully as well from the gobbler as from other 
depredators, for he would not hesitate to make way with 
both eggs and chicks if he had the chance, and she em- 
ploys the same route both when approaching and leav- 
ing her eggs. The nest is a simple affair situated near 
some stump or fallen log, in the midst of a clump of 
bushes or in high grass, in fact in any place where the 
required concealment can be obtained. The comple- 
ment of eggs is from seven to twelve; but occasionally 
two hens will lay in the same nest, and then as many as 
two dozen have been found. In such a case it would 
naturally be supposed that both birds would sit together. 



174 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

The young are very delicate little things and a wetting 
is almost certainly fatal, and it is a wonder how the 
mother is able to raise as many as she does. Certainly 
the task before her is no light one, to guard and protect 
her brood against the elements as well as all her furred, 
feathered, and scaly enemies, always on the alert for such 
a desirable morsel as a chicken turkey. In the early 
spring at break of day the gobblers are heard calling 
from some favored roost in the forest. At such times 
they are exceedingly watchful and suspicious, and the 
least glimpse of a hunter, or frequently the breaking of 
a stick under foot, will cause them to fly at once, and 
it is rare for them to return to the vicinity of that place 
again during the day. The hens attend these trysting 
places, and should two gobblers meet they fight desper- 
ately, as they are very jealous and ready at all times to 
defend their fancied prerogatives. Many are shot at this 
season, as the birds are accustomed to resort to the same 
roost at night, and when this has been discovered, the 
hunter either goes near to it during the night and waits 
for the dawn and light enough to see the sights of his 
gun, or makes a stealthy stalk until within shot, after 
the break of day. One brood is raised in a season, but 
a hen may lay a second complement of eggs, if from any 
mishap the first clutch has been lost. The eggs are 
creamy white, finely spotted with reddish brown. At 
the end of the nesting season the males separate from the 
females and keep .by themselves, reuniting again when 
they have recovered their pristine vigor. The females 
lead their young where they can catch insects and such 
other food as is suitable for them, and each family keeps 
apart until the young are fairly well-grown, and then 
several may join together, their number at length being 
augmented by the returning males. 



WILD TURKEY. 1 75 

Although they seem to become attached to a par- 
ticular locality and rarely stray far from it, yet the birds 
wander a good deal, especially when gathered together 
in flocks of any size. A stream of considerable width, 
lying in their course, proves an obstacle to their farther 
progress perhaps for several days, during which time the 
males strut and gobble as if encouraging the young and 
themselves to undertake the passage. At length they 
mount to' the highest branches overhanging the banks, 
and launch themselves out over the water, and fly for the 
opposite shore. Should any fail to make the bank and 
fall into the water, they spread their tails and swim to 
land if the distance be not too great. The call note of 
the Wild Turkey, both the gobble of the male, and the 
low, soft call of the female, is very like that of the domes- 
tic bird, and although there are slight differences, it 
would take a Turkey itself, or the well-trained ear of an 
expert, to distinguish them. The food of this bird con- 
sists of nuts of various kinds, acorns, such as grow on 
the different species of oaks; chestnuts, pecan nuts, seeds 
of many sorts, berries, grapes, insects, and grain. They 
are very fond of grasshoppers, and it is said that a flock 
of Turkeys will so systematically traverse and explore a 
field, that it will be entirely cleared of these insects in a 
brief period. Turkeys do not migrate in the strict sense 
of the term, but when food grows scarce from any cause 
in one section of the country, they naturally will move on, 
seeking a better land. For this reason Turkeys may at 
times be scarce in localities usually favorable for them, 
and to which they have been accustomed to resort in 
numbers, and again other districts, where they have not 
been especially abundant, will, from an excess of food 
supply, suddenly contain large flocks of these birds. 
They will return, however, to their usual haunts as soon 



176 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

as the conditions become again favorable. The appear- 
ance of the Wild Turkey is magnificent as he walks in 
stately dignity in his native wilds, the sun glancing from 
his burnished plumage in flashes of emerald and gold, 
and his erect, graceful, and easy carriage, with head well 
up, alert to every sound or movement, exhibits him, as 
he really is, the finest and noblest game bird in the world. 

MELEAGRIS SYLVESTRIS. 

Geographical Distribution. — From Pennsylvania, where a few 
possibly survive, to the Gulf States, except Florida, and west- 
ward to Wisconsin in the north, and to Texas in the south, in 
wooded districts. 

Adult Male. — General plumage, brilliant metallic, gold, green, 
bronze, and red reflections, each feather tipped with a band of 
velvety black; secondaries, bronzy green, barred with whitish; 
primaries, black, barred with white, the bars reaching the shafts; 
rump, black, feathers glossed with dark metallic purple ; upper 
tail-coverts, dark chestnut, with metallic red reflections, and 
barred with black; tail feathers, chestnut barred and vermicu- 
lated with black, a subapical broad black band and deep buff 
tips; head and neck, naked, red; a long bunch of coarse, stiff 
black bristles is suspended from center of breast; legs, red, 
spurred; bill, red. Total length, about four feet; wing, 21 
inches; tail, 19; weight, from twelve to nearly forty pounds. 

Adult Female. — Smaller and with much duller colors, very 
little of the brilliant metallic hues seen in the male, and without 
the pendent bunch of bristles. 



n 




44. Florida Wild Turkey. 



FLORIDA WILD TURKEY. 

\A/HEN I first visited Florida, Wild Turkeys were 
quite abundant even in the near vicinity of St. 
Augustine, and ascending the St. John's it was not an 
unusual thing to see a flock walking sedately along the 
bank of the river, or on the edge of the woods when 
these did not come to the water; and not infrequently 
one would be killed by a bullet from some passenger's 
rifle, and the boat's nose run against the bank to allow 
one of the crew to jump ashore and retrieve the game. 
But in these days, except in the wilder portions of the 
State, where they are still abundant, they have greatly 
decreased in numbers, and like their Northern relative, 
are rapidly disappearing. They were not so excessively 
shy and wary before they were so persecuted and per- 
sistently hunted, and I remember well the first time I 
ever saw a Florida Turkey. I had been hunting deer 
on horseback south of St. Augustine, and night com- 
ing on we decided to camp for the night, and rode 
into a clump of trees and palmettoes near which, on the 
other side, stretched a swamp of considerable extent. As 
I dismounted from my horse there was a sudden rush 
and commotion in front, and a flock of Turkeys started 
away, some to run and a few to take wing. The run- 
ners soon disappeared, but the flying birds took refuge 
in the trees near at hand, and standing motionless, or 
else slowly walking on the large limbs, looked down 
upon us as if wondering what kind of intruders we were. 
They evinced no particular alarm, certainly nothing like 

177 



17^ GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

that which one of these birds would be apt to show at 
the present time under similar circumstances. 

Rifles and shotguns were quickly made ready, and 
several of the birds remained with us; the rest of the 
flock seeking a more secure retreat, where they could 
indulge their curiosity with less risk to themselves. The 
appearance of the Florida Turkey is very like the North- 
ern bird, and only an expert would be apt to notice the 
difference. This chiefly consists in the darker colors 
generally of the present race, and in having the pri- 
maries black with white bars, these last not reaching the 
shaft, while in those of the Northern bird they go to the 
shaft of the feather. It is a slight variation, but sufficient 
to constitute what is considered a geographical race. 
Turkeys in Florida seem to wander a good deal, per- 
haps really not more than do those inhabiting other 
States, but they are abundant at times in one locality, and 
then will be quite scarce again in the same place. Prob- 
ably the quantity or absence of food is the main cause 
of this unsettled phase of their existence, for it is well 
known that all Turkeys will travel many miles to pro- 
cure any food they particularly fancy when they know 
where it is to be obtained. The Florida Turkey goes in 
small flocks, and keeps to the thick woods and dense 
swamps. The males can be called like those of the 
Northern bird, by the imitation of the hen's note in the 
spring, and they approach the hunter's ambush with all 
the suspicion and cunning of an old campaigner, urged 
on by the desire burning in his breast. But with all his 
eagerness to meet his supposed lady-love, he is watchful 
of every sight or sound that comes to eye or ear, and is 
off in a moment if his fears are aroused, disappearing 
quietly and swiftly as if he had vanished into air. 
Should two males encounter each other at this season, 



FLORIDA WILD TURKEY. 1 79 

desperate are the battles that ensue, and should one get 
a firm hold of the other by the head, he will hang on 
until his adversary is exhausted, perhaps dead. It is 
said that a gobbler will caress the dead body of his 
fallen foe, but I have never witnessed this. The 
males begin to gobble in February and nesting com- 
mences in March. The usual deprecsion is made be- 
neath a palmetto and lined with grass, leaves, and similar 
rubbish, and usually about ten eggs are laid, exactly 
similar in appearance to those of the Northern Wild 
Turkey. The chicks remain with the mother until full 
grown, when they may unite with other families if they 
happen to meet, and in the autumn the males join them. 
Their habits do not differ from those of the other races, 
and the Florida bird, though not so brilliant perhaps, is 
also a magnificent creature. 

MELEAGRIS SYLVESTRIS OSCEOLA. 

Geographical Distribution. — Florida. 

Adult Male.— Resembles M. sylvestris, but much darker in 
the general hue of the plumage ; there is a great deal of brilliant 
metallic coloring observable in different shades of bronze, 
greens, and fiery reds, but the chief difference between this race 
and other Wild Turkeys consists in the markings of the primaries 
and secondaries, though to a less extent in the latter. The pri- 
maries and outer secondaries are brownish black, with narrow 
broken bars of white that do not reach the shaft of the feather, 
while the inner secondaries are grayish brown, apparently with- 
out bars, but vermiculated with dark brown on the inner web. 
The dimensions are about the same as the Northern Wild 
Turkey. 

Adult Female. — Like the male, but smaller and less brilliant 
in coloration. 



ELLIOT'S RIO GRANDE TURKEY. 

""pHIS handsome race of the Wild Turkey is restricted, 
so far as is known at present, to the lowlands of 
eastern Mexico and southern Texas, ranging not far- 
ther south than Vera Cruz nor north of the Brazos 
River, or about ten degrees of latitude. This is the dis- 
persion given to the bird by its describer, my friend Mr. 
George B. Sennett. It is a dweller of the woodlands 
and is not met with much, if any, above an altitude of 
2000 feet. While having the general appearance of the 
eastern Wild Turkey it differs from that and all the other 
races in many particulars; and the hen is unlike that of 
any other species or race of Turkeys known at the 
present day.- No evidence of its intergrading with the 
common species has yet been obtained, but it is expected 
that it would interbreed with that bird wherever the 
limits of their dispersion came in contact. It has always 
been confounded w.ith the Common Wild Turkey, and 
although its peculiar coloring and marking had been 
observed and commented on by many ornithologists it 
was not until lately that sufficient specimens were 
obtained, and its restricted habitat known, to prove its 
claim to be considered as a distinct race. Its habits 
are the same as those already described in the articles on 
the other races, and in beauty and brilliancy of its 
metallic coloring, as well as in size, it is not inferior to 
any of the Wild Turkeys inhabiting Mexico and the rest 
of the continent lying to the northward. The female 
varies greatly from the male, and in fact she is differ- 

180 




45. Elliot's Rio Grande Turkey. 



ELLIOT'S RIO GRANDE TURKEY. 181 

ently marked from the hens of all other species of 
Turkeys ; sufficiently characteristic in my opinion to give 
the bird specific rank, although I retain its subspecific 
nomenclature. 

MELEAGRIS SYLVESTRIS ELLIOTT. 

Habitat. — Lowlands of southern Texas and eastern Mexico, 
from the Brazos River to Vera Cruz not above 2000 feet of eleva- 
tion. Northeastern Mexico. 

Adult Male. — Head, neck, mantle, upper wing-coverts, and 
breast resemble those of the eastern Wild Turkey, M. sylvestris; 
back and rump, jet black, with, in certain lights, a silvery gray 
bar near the ends of all the feathers, and a narrower one on the 
tip, both with roseate reflections; upper tail-coverts, broadly 
tipped with ochraceous buff (and this is the general color of the 
lower rump and upper tail-coverts), remaining parts, chestnut, 
irregularly crossed with black lines, succeeded by a black bar 
with metallic copper bronze reflections; back and rump, jet 
black; lower back, with a coppery metallic bar near the tip of the 
feathers; tail, mottled with pale chestnut and black, a black 
band near the end and the tip ochraceous buff; under tail- 
coverts, black, with metallic green, bronze, and red reflections, 
and broadly tipped with ochraceous buff . Wing, 21 inches; tail, 
ig; tarsus, 6^. 

Young Male has the feathers of the breast, under parts, flanks, 
back, and rump conspicuously tipped with ochraceous buff. 

Adult Female. — Smaller than male, general hue, black, with 
the metallic iridescent hues of the male present on the back, wings, 
and under surface; feathers of the entire upper parts have black 
bars near the ends and grayish tips, becoming broader on the 
lower back and rump; feathers of under surface tipped with pale 
buff; upper and under tail-coverts and tail resemble those of the 
male, and all except the under coverts have very pale ochraceous 
buff tips. 



MEXICAN TURKEY. 

CROM this bird came the domesticated race of Tur- 
keys. It is a common species on the table-lands of 
Mexico, and within our borders is found in southern and 
western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona at an altitude 
of from 3000 to 10,000 feet above the sea. It is a bird of 
the highlands and mountainous regions, and is rather 
larger and heavier than the Wild Turkey of the Atlantic 
States. The light rump with the broad white borders 
to the feathers, makes it conspicuously different from all 
its allies, and is one of the characteristic marks of the 
domestic bird. I found this species very abundant upon 
the highlands in southern New Mexico near the borders 
of Arizona, and met with them in flocks of considerable 
size. They had all the habits of the Eastern bird, and 
were wary and difficult to approach. It was late in the 
autumn and the pifion nuts were abundant, and the birds 
kept closely to the groves of the trees which were 
covered with these nuts, and apparently fed exclusively 
upon them. Their flesh was so highly scented by this 
food that, when the Turkeys were over the fire, they per- 
fumed the camp with a most appetizing odor, and I 
know no better dish than a roasted Mexican Turkey 
that has been fed on pihon nuts. About three miles 
from one of our camps was a place where the Turkeys 
were in the habit of roosting, and we visited the spot 
several times. On the first occasion I left camp about 
half an hour before sundown, and came near the roost- 
ing place just at dark. The Turkeys had selected a 

182 




46. Mexican Turkey 



MEXICAN TURKEY. 1S3 

grove of lofty pines, the first branches of which were too 
high for any missile to reach and do execution upon so 
large a bird, save a bullet from a rifle. As my com- 
panion and myself quietly sat upon the ground a quarter 
of a mile away, waiting for the daylight to leave the sky, 
we heard the Turkeys flying into< the trees, and gobbling 
at intervals as they settled themselves for the night. 
Soon darkness spread her veil around us, and all sounds 
from the roost ceased, and we commenced cautiously to 
draw near our objective point. 

Soon we could distinguish the trees in which we knew 
the birds were, but the branches were so far from the 
ground that at first nothing could be seen that re- 
sembled a Turkey. Gradually we drew near until we 
stood beneath the overspreading limbs and close to the 
trunk of the tree each had selected. No movement or 
sound from above indicated that we had been observed 
by the watchful birds, and now to our eyes, grown more 
accustomed to the obscurity, some clumps and bunches 
appeared upon the branches toward the sky. It was 
almost impossible to tell what these were, whether 
Turkeys squatting on the limbs, or masses of moss or 
foliage. But the only way to find out was to shoot at 
them, which we did. At the crack of the rifles came 
numerous pit-pits and a stray gobble as the aroused 
birds moved upon their perches and questioned this 
unusual uproar. Their movements disclosed their forms 
without mistake, and soon there was added to the noise 
of the firearms, and the calls of the now thoroughly 
startled birds, the crash of the falling Turkeys striking 
the limbs as they descended, and then the heavy 
" thump " as the body reached the ground. For a short 
time confusion reigned. Unharmed birds began to 
leave the trees, and the whir and beat of their wings 



184 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AM F.RICA. 

sounded above the various cries they uttered, and occa- 
sionally one wounded, but not entirely incapacitated 
from escaping, would drop to the ground and the 
rapid " pats " of its swiftly moving feet could be heard 
upon the dead leaves as it ran quickly from the scene. 
The roost, however, was very extensive and continued a 
long way up the canon, and the birds not in the imme- 
diate vicinity did not desert their posts. Picking up the 
dead birds, a few of which were quite a heavy enough 
load for two men, we were glad when we could transfer 
them from our own backs to those of our horses, which 
were waiting for us about half a mile away. This Tur- 
key is very strong upon the wing, rises without difficulty, 
awd continues its flight frequently for long distances. 
It alights either upon the ground or in the trees, but if 
the former, runs with great speed until a place of con- 
cealment is gained. While not uncommon in the dis- 
tricts named within our limits, this species is much more 
numerous in. Mexico, where it goes as far south as Vera 
Cruz. The hen attends solely to the hatching of the 
eggs and rearing of the young, hiding them away from 
the male, who cannot be trusted either with them or a 
knowledge of their location. The nest is a depression in 
the ground, lined with grass, weeds, and leaves, and care- 
fully concealed amid bushes or grass. The eggs are 
creamy white, finely and thickly dotted with reddish 
brown. The food of this bird consists of acorns and 
various nuts that are found in those southern latitudes, 
especially those of the pinon tree, also insects of all kinds, 
and grain when it happens to be grown in the vicinity 
of their habitats. 

This Turkey was carried to some of the West Indies 
Islands early in the sixteenth century, and then to 
Europe, especially England and France, and in 1573 had 



MEXICAN TURKEY. 185 

become quite numerous and was freely used as an article 
of food. In the days of the Emperors of Mexico 
Montezuma possessed extensive Zoological Gardens, 
and many of these birds were given to the wild beasts for 
food. Certainly they had no fault to find with the fare 
served to them. The Mexican Turkey, as I have said, is 
possibly a somewhat larger bird, and exhibits a good 
many of the metallic tints of its Eastern relative, yet it 
can hardly be regarded as equally beautiful, as the white 
on the rump detracts greatly from the general brilliancy 
of its appearance. Still it is a magnificent game bird, 
and is worthy to be compared with its rivals of the 
Eastern and Northern portions of the United States. 

MELA GR IS GALLOP A VO. 

Geographical Distribution.— Western Texas to Arizona. 
Table-lands of Mexico. 

Adult Male. — Rather larger than the average common Wild 
Turkey, and with fully as much of the brilliant metallic coloring 
so conspicuous in its better known relative. The principal dif- 
ferences exhibited by the present bird are the upper tail-coverts, 
which are broadly tipped with white, barred posteriorly by a 
band of black, the rest of the feathers being metallic bronze ; 
tail, very dark brown, especially toward the tip, spotted and 
vermiculated with black and tipped with white ; feathers on 
lower part of flanks and under tail-coverts are also tipped 
with white; the primaries are white, barred with blackish brown, 
apparently more white visible on the webs than of the other 
color; head and neck, bare, red. Measurements and weights 
vary considerably among individuals, and those given for the 
common Wild Turkey will answer for this one also. There is 
a long bunch of stiff black bristles pendent from the chest. 

Adult Female. — Smaller and with much less of the metallic 
coloring, and without the pendent bristles or " beard." 



APPENDIX. 

KEYS TO THE FAMILIES, SUBFAMILIES, GENERA, 
AND SPECIES. 



KEY TO THE FAMILIES. 



{Referring only to North American Species.) 



A. Head feathered, tarsi bare, or partly or 
completely feathered. No spurs on tarsi. 
Plumage not iridescent. 

B. Head and upper part of neck, bare. Tarsi 
always bare. Spurs on tarsi of male. 
Plumage iridescent. 

KEY TO SUBFAMILIES. 

A. No spurs on legs. 

a. Nasal fossae and tarsi bare. Sides of toes 
not pectinated. Cutting edge of mandible 
more or less distinctly serrated near the 
tip. 

b. Nasal fossae densely feathered, Tarsi 
and toes partly, or completely covered 
with feathers. Sides of toes pectinated. 
Cutting edge of mandible not serrated. 

B. With spurs on tarsi of male. 



PARTRIDGES AND 
GROUSE. 

Tetraonidce. 

WILD TURKEYS. 

Pkasianidce. 



AMERICAN PAR- 
TRIDGES. 

Odontophorince 
Page 19. 

GROUSE AND 
PTARMIGAN. 

Tetraonince. 
Page 74. 

WILD TURKEYS. 

Meleagrince. 
Page 172. 



189 



FAMILY TETRAONIME. 

This family contains the Quails, Partridges, and 
Grouse, and has its representatives in nearly every por- 
tion of the world. It has been subjected by different 
ornithologists to varying treatment and has at times been 
divided into many subfamilies, but three have always 
seemed to me quite sufficient, two of which are repre- 
sented in North America. The three are: Perdicince, 
containing the Quails and Partridges of the Old World, 
having no representative in the Western Hemisphere; 
Odontophorince, the American Partridges, natives of the 
New World unrepresented in the Old World ; and Tetra- 
onince, the Grouse and Ptarmigan found in both Hemi- 
spheres. 

They are all game birds, in the sense the sports- 
man understands the term, and wherever their habitat 
may be, whether the elevated plateaus or gloomy defiles 
of high mountain ranges, or the plains and prairies of 
level lands, or the forests and thickets of the more 
attractive portions of the earth, the members of this 
family always exhibit the peculiar qualities found so emi- 
nently among gallinaceous birds, and afford the sport 
that so endears them to the hunter's heart. 

The New World possesses some of the largest and 

finest species of the family, many of which at one time 

were found within its limits in extraordinary abundance, 

and although they now exist in lessened numbers, and 

many districts in which they formerly abounded will 

know them no more forever, yet with proper laws, 

rightly enforced, a remnant may be saved for succeeding 

generations. 

191 



SUBFAMILY ODONTOPHORIN^. 

This division of the family Tetraonid^ comprises 
the American Partridges, which differ from those of the 
Eastern Hemisphere in having the mandible notched on 
either side, although in some species this is hardly appar- 
ent. The group throughout the Western Hemisphere 
consists of about nine genera and between forty and fifty 
species, of which in North America, according to my 
views, five genera and thirteen species and subspecies 
are found. They are birds of shapely, sometimes grace- 
fully formed bodies, and with an attractive plumage, 
which indeed, in some species, may be called beautiful. 
The American Partridges go in coveys generally con- 
sisting of one family, but some species, notably of the 
genus Lophortyx, gather at certain seasons in packs, 
often of five or six hundred individuals, resembling in 
this respect the Prairie Grouse of different species. The 
North American Partridges, excepting perhaps those 
that " pack," are game in the highest sense of the term, 
lie well to the dog, and afford the greatest sport in the 
field. Brave little birds, with well-sharpened wits, fertile 
in resources that promise to insure their own safety, 
and wide-awake to seize every advantage that offers for 
their own benefit. Gallant " Bob White " and his near 
relatives certainly have a warm place in the heart of every 
true sportsman in the land. 



SUBFAMILY ODONTOPHORINM. 



193 



KEY TO THE GENERA. 

A. Claws moderate, normal. 

a. Crest, moderate, inconspicuous. 

b. Crest very long, slender, of two feathers. 

c. Crest full, conspicuous. 



d. Crest recurved, of several feathers, en- 
larged at extremity. 



B. Claws very long. 



BOB WHITES. 

Colinus. 
Page 19. 

PLUMED PAR- 
TRIDGES. 

Oreortyx. 
Page 41. 

SCALED PAR- 
TRIDGES. 

Callipepia. 
Page 49. 

HELMETED PAR- 
TRIDGES. 

LopJwrtyx. 
Page 55. 

MASSENA PAR- 
TRIDGES. 

Cyrtonyx. 
Page 69. 



GENUS COLINUS 

(Latin Colinus, synonymous with the Greek 6prv%, ortyx, a quail). 

Colinus Less. Man. d'Ornith., vol. ii., 1828, p. 190. Type 
Tetrao virginianus, Linn. 

Body short, rounded; feathers of crown slightly rounded and 
erectile, but not forming a true crest. Tail about three-fifths 
length of wing. Sexes alike, save in the color of throats and 
superciliary stripes. 

Two species and two subspecies of this genus inhabit North 
America north of Mexico. Closely allied in habits and appear- 
ance three of them might easily be confounded by one not an 
expert, but the fourth, C. ridgwayi, hardly called with propriety 
a North American species, differs completely in the color of its 
plumage from the others. 



194 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



lrreg- 



A. Adult Males. — Lower parts, white, 
ularly barred with black. 
a. Throat, white. 
a'. Band on breast. 
a". Breast band, light chestnut, inner 
edges of tertials, deep buff. 

b". Breast band, pale cinnamon ; inner 
edges of tertials, buffy white. 



b' . No band on breast. 



B. Adult Male. — Lower parts, cinnamon- 
rufous. Throat, black. 



BOB WHITE. 

C. virginianus. 

TEXAN BOB 
WHITE. 

C. v. texanus. 

FLORIDA BOB 
WHITE. 

C.v.fioridanus. 

MASKED BOB 
WHITE. 

C. ridgwayi. 



GENUS OREORTYX 
(Greek, 8pos, oros, a mountain; + fyrvZ, ortyx, a quail). 

Oreortyx, Baird. B. North Am., 1858, p. 642. Type Ortyx 
picta., Dougl. 

Head with a long, slender crest, consisting of two feathers, either 
standing upright or inclining slightly backward. Tail broad, 
rounded, almost hidden by upper coverts. Tarsus equal to 
middle toe and claw. 

One species and two subspecies of this genus are recognized, 
but there is so very slight a difference between the subspecies 
that a close examination is required to separate them, especially 
if the locality of the specimens is unknown. They are among 
the most brilliantly plumaged members of the family and of a 
larger size and greater weight than the other North American 
Partridges. Strictly mountain dwellers, they are found in the 
summer at very high elevations. Their coloring is peculiar, be- 
ing massed in large areas and of strongly contrasting hues. 
There is considerable difference in the appearance of the sexes, 
the female being less gaudily attired and with a much shorter 
crest. 



SUBFAMILY ODONTOPHORIN&. 195 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
Crest very long and mostly straight. 

a. Above: deep olive-brown from crest to ) M0UNTAIN par- 
end of tail-coverts. f tridge. 

' O. pictus. 

-^ PLUMED PAR- 

b. Above: hind-neck and upper back gray- I tridge. 
ish blue. | O. p. plumi- 

' ferus. 

SAN PEDRO 
PARTRIDGE. 

O. p. confinis. 



c. Above: ashy brown with slight olive- 
wash. 



The differences between the last bird and the O. p. phtmiferus, 
as given by its describer, are so very slight, viz. : " grayer upper 
parts and thicker bill," that an ornithologist would naturally 
hesitate before giving it any separate rank, even a subspecific 
one, until he found characters more decisive and important, that 
would enable the bird to be recognized from its fellows. Relative 
proportions of bills, unless very unusual, are notoriously unreli- 
able, and prove generally to be a most unsatisfactory foundation 
on which to base specific or subspecific forms, and slight shades of 
color are not much more to be depended on. 

GENUS CALLIPEPLA 

(Greek, KaWnreirXos, KallipepZos, beautifully arrayed). 

Callipepla, Wagler. Isis., 1832, p. 277. Type, C. strenua, 
Wagl. = Ortyx squamatus, Vig. 

Crest full, and short, of two colors blending with feathers of 
the crown. No distinction in plumage of sexes. 

I have included but one species and one subspecies in this 
genus, contrary to the arrangement of the A. O. U. check list, for 
I cannot satisfy myself that birds so essentially different as the 
Scaled Partridges, and those represented by Gambel's, the Cali- 
fornia Partridge, etc., can properly be placed in the same genus. 
The crests are entirely different in structure, that of the Scaled 
Partridge being more like that of Bob White and its allies, while 



196 



GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



those of Gambel's Partridge, and its relatives, are unlike any seen 
in the family. The sexes of the Blue Partridge also are indis- 
tinguishable from each other in plumage, while those of Gambel's, 
etc., are very different in appearance. Generic terms are, as I 
well know, often arbitrary, and sometimes most artificial, but in 
this instance I cannot but think that these birds are more 
properly placed in separate genera. It would be impossible to 
define a single genus to contain them both, without using terms, 
so far as the crests and plumage of the sexes are concerned, that 
would contradict each other. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
A. Crest short, blending with crown feathers. 

a. No chestnut patch on belly. 

b. Chestnut patch on belly. 



SCALED PAR- 
TRIDGE. 

C. squamata. 

CHESTNUT-BELLY 
SCALED PAR- 
TRIDGE. 

C. s. castanei- 
gastra. 



GENUS LOPHORTYX 



(Greek \6<pos, lofthos, a crest ; -f- 8prv£, ortux, a quail). 

Lophortyx, Bonp. Geog., and Comp. List, 1838, p. 42. Type 
Tetrao calif ornicus, Shaw. 

Crest recurved, composed of several overlapping feathers, 
lengthened, upright, widening from base to tip ; fewer and 
smaller in the female. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and 
claw. Sexes dissimilar in plumage. 

The two species and one subspecies belonging to this genus 
are the most graceful in carriage and beautiful in plumage of the 
North American Partridges. The body is well proportioned to 
the size of the bird, and the variegated dress and peculiar sway- 
ing crest combine to present creatures of singular attractive- 
ness. Loath to take wing, preferring to run so long as escape 



SUBFAMILY ODONTOPHORIN^. 197 

is possible by that method, they lack, to a certain degree, what 
sportsmen are accustomed to regard as game qualities, and by 
always indulging in these habits are particularly exasperating 
to both man and dog. They are accustomed at certain periods 
to assemble in large flocks, sometimes of several hundreds, and 
are very abundant in the countries they inhabit. I have, under 
the genus Callipepla, given my reasons why I have departed 
from the arrangement in the Check List and separated these 
birds from the Scaled Partridges generically. In my opinion the 
characters are too important to be classed subgenerically, and 
are entitled to a full generic standing. In fact, there is very 
little in common either in structure or habits, between the two 
groups of birds. The only trait possessed by both, to a super- 
lative degree, is that of putting their faith in their legs, instead 
of, as would be more natural, in their wings. In all other re- 
spects they are very unlike. 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Crest lengthened, recurved, elevated, dis- 
tinct from crown feathers. 
a. Flanks olive-brown, streaked with white. 

-j CALIFORNIA PAR- 

a' . Upper parts smoky brown; inner edges I tridge. 

of tertials deep buff. f L. calif or- 

> nzcus. 

VALLEY PAR- 
TRIDGE. 

L. c. vallicola. 

GAMBEL'S PAR- 
TRIDGE. 

L. gambeli 



b' . Upper parts grayish brown, inner 
edges of tertials whitish. 

b. Flanks rich chestnut streaked with 
white. 



GENUS CYRTONYX 
(Greek Kvprds, kurtos, crooked; -\-6w%, onux, claw). 

Cyrtonyx, Gould. Mon., Odont., pt. 1. 1844, pi. vii. Type 
Ortyx massena, Less. = O. montezuma, Vig. 

Crest full, soft depressed, covering the occiput. Tail almost 
hidden by the coverts. Bill stout ; tarsus shorter than middle 
toe and claw, the latter greatly developed. 



I9 8 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

Two species are included in this genus, both of which are es- 
sentially Mexican, the present one only coming within our bor- 
ders. They are remarkable for the fantastic coloring of the 
head, short tail, and long claws, as well as for their unsuspicious 
dispositions, which have earned for them the soubriquet of 
"Fool quail." The species found in the Southern United States 
is not very abundant anywhere, and will probably soon be very 
much less so, as making but little effort to escape their pursuers, 
the members of a flock, when met with, usually all fall victims to 
their misplaced confidence in man's forbearance. 



SUBFAMILY TETRAONIN.E. 

This subfamily contains the Grouse of the world, 
consisting of those birds which have the legs and feet 
more or less feathered, such as the Ruffed Grouse 
feathered to the heel, the Prairie Grouse and their allies 
feathered to> the toes, and Ptarmigan with both legs 
and toes completely hidden by feathers. With the ex- 
ception of the Turkeys this subfamily comprises the 
largest known species of gallinaceous birds, and is fairly 
well distributed over North America and the western 
half of the Eastern Hemisphere. The larger number of 
species with their subspecies are found in North America 
between the Arctic Sea and the northern boundary of 
Mexico, and the two great oceans that line the eastern 
and western shores. The American species which in- 
habit the prairies are met with in coveys usually com- 
posed of from a dozen to twenty individuals, but at 
certain seasons of the year, generally late in the autumn, 
are accustomed to congregate in flocks often of hun- 
dreds, and are then exceedingly wild and wary. The 
forest-loving species are generally found in small com- 
panies, the covey usually consisting of a single family, 
and the birds never gather together in such enormous 
numbers as do those inhabiting the plains. The flesh of 
the species dwelling upon the prairies is mostly dark, 
while that of the forest-loving birds, with one or two ex- 
ceptions, is white. The flesh of all furnishes most 
excellent food, save perhaps that of the Sage Cock, 
and at certain seasons, the Spruce Grouse, which is bit- 



200 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

ter and unsavory, caused by the particular leaves on 
which the birds feed. The American species, according 
to my views, are divided into seven genera and twenty- 
five species and subspecies. 

KEY TO THE GENERA. 

A. Legs feathered wholly, or in part. 

\ RUFFED GROUSE. 

a. Legs bare from the heel downward. V Bonasa. 

) Page 74. 

b. Legs feathered to the toes. 
a'. Tail square at tip. 

S DUSKY GROUSE. 
Dendragapus. 
Page 90. 

\ SPRUCE GROUSE. 

b". Tail feathers 16. Air sacs absent. ( Canachites. 

) Page 100. 

b'. Tail rounded of 18 rather stiff feathers. \ prairie hens. 

Tufts of lengthened feathers over air V Tympanuchus. 

sacs. ) Page no. 

c'. Tail pointed, of 18 soft feathers, cen- 1 sharp-tailed 

tral pair longest No tufts over air I grouse. 

■ „ Pedicecetes. 
sacs. 

J Page 123. 

^| COCK-OF-THE 

d' . Tail pointed, stiff, of 20 filamentous I plains. 

feathers. Breast feathers hair-like. j Centrocercus. 

J Page 136. 

\ PTARMIGAN. 

B. Legs and toes covered with feathers. \ Lagopus. 



Page 142. 



GENUS BONASA 



(Greek povaaa, Latin bonasus, a bison. The bird's drumming 
resembles a bison's bellow). 

Bonasa, Steph. Gen. Zool., vol. xi., 1819, p. 298. Type Tetrao 
umbellus, Linn. 

Head crested, rudimentary air sac covered by a tuft of broad, 
soft, glossy feathers. Tail broad, long, rounded, fan-shaped. 



SUBFAMILY TETRAONIN^. 201 

Legs bare from heel, scutellated in front. Carriage upright, 
dignified. 

One species and three subspecies are recognized of this genus 
in North America and three allied species {Genus Tetrastes), in 
the Eastern Hemisphere. They are strictly birds of the woods 
and thickets, exceedingly cunning and wary, strong of wing and 
fruitful in expedients to foil the hunter and his four-footed ally, 
and secure their own escape. The flight is powerful and well 
sustained, and when startled the birds rise with such a whirring 
noise that, on a calm day, it resounds through the woods like 
distant thunder. The flesh is white and palatable, and the 
species, from their thoroughly gamelike ways and habits, are 
justly esteemed as perhaps the most gallant and desirable of our 
native gallinaceous birds. 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Upper parts rusty ; tail usually without 
gray markings. 

a. Pale above, markings on lower parts in- j ruff£d grous£ 
distinct. Tail yellowish brown or och- V £ umbe n us 
raceous. ) 

b. Dark above, markings on lower part very ) sabine's grouse. 
distinct. Tail rust color or reddish. ) B. u. sabini. 

B. Upper parts mostly or entirely gray. Tail 
gray. 

\ CANADIAN 

a. Size large. >• ruffed grouse. 

) B. u. togata. 

■x GRAY RUFFED 
GROUSE. 

b. Size small. Y B u umbel _ 

J hides. 

GENUS DENDRA GA P US 
(Greek 8ev8pov, drendron, a tree; -\-ay<nrau), agaftao, to love). 

Dendragapus, Elliot. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 1864, p. 23. 
Type Tetrao obscurus, Say. 

Head slightly crested. Tail long, composed of twenty broad 
feathers, square at tip. Air sacs on neck. Size large. 

The single species and its two subspecies, comprising this 
genus, are fine large birds with white flesh, strictly inhabitants 



202 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

of the forests, and are found only in the western portions of 
North America amid the high mountain ranges. By having dis- 
tensible sacs of bare skin upon the sides of the neck, and a tail 
consisting of twenty broad feathers, these birds cannot properly 
be included in the same genus with the Spruce Grouse, C. cana- 
densis and C.franklini, which have no air sacs, and only sixteen 
rectrices in the tail. These characters are in my opinion strictly 
generic and too important and conspicuous to permit the two 
groups to be separated only subgenerically, but are as striking 
and trenchant as any that separate these birds themselves from 
those in other genera of the subfamily. 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Under parts of adult males, mostly slate 
color. 
a. Tail with distinct gray band at tip. 
a! . General colors, light. Tail band very \ dusky grouse. 



\ DUSK 



broad. \ D. obscurus. 

b'. General colors, dark, almost black. ) SOOTY GR0USE - 

Tail band narrow. \ D ' °' f ul ^~ 

) nosus. 

■n Richardson's 

r m ., ■ . , , , • GROUSE. 

b. Tail without band at tip. \ D Q richard . 

J soni 

GENUS CANACHITES 
(Greek, Kavaxw, kanackeo, to be noisy). 

Canachites, Stejn. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. viii., 1885, p. 410. 
Type, Tetrao canadensis, Linn. 

Head without crest. Tail moderately long, nearly square at 
tip, composed of sixteen feathers. No air sacs on sides of neck. 
Toes naked, scaly, and fringed along the sides. Size small. 

Two species only are included in this genus, the common 
Spruce or Canada Grouse, and Franklin's Grouse, the latter 
dwelling on the high mountain ranges of the western side of 
North America. They are quite different in their pattern of 
coloration, and the males are characteristically marked and 
easily distinguishable. 



SUBFAMILY TETRAONINJE. 203 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Under parts of adult male, mostly black. 

a. Upper tail-coverts narrowly tipped with ) Canada grouse. 
grayish white. ) C. canadensis. 

b. Upper tail-coverts broadly tipped with ) FRANKLIN 's 

pure white. \ GROUSE - 

) C. frank hm. 

GENUS TYMPANUCHUS 
(Latin Tympanum, a drum; +nucka, neck). 

Tympanuchus, Gloger. Gemeinutzig, Hand- und Hilfsbuch, 
Naturg., 1842, p. 396. Type, Tetrao cupido, Linn. 

Air sacs on sides of neck, above which arise tufts of winglike, 
lengthened, more or less acuminated, feathers. Head crested. 
Tarsi rather scantily feathered to the toes, the latter webbed at 
base. Tail short, rounded, consisting of eighteen feathers. Size 
large, sexes similar. 

The Prairie Hens are divided into three species and one sub- 
species, constituting a well-marked and distinct group of the sub- 
family, with characteristics that easily give them recognition 
among their allies. They are essentially birds of the plains, 
although they do not hesitate to perch upon the limbs of trees, 
fences, or any support that may be most convenient at the time. 
They go usually in coveys, generally consisting of a single family, 
but in the autumn are accustomed to gather in enormous packs 
and then are very difficult of approach. Formerly abundant 
over much of eastern North America, they are now confined to 
the prairie countries of the west and south, and the island of 
Martha's Vineyard on the eastern coast. Throughout their dis- 
persion there is little or no difference in the habits of the various 
races. 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Winglike tufts of feathers on the sides of 
neck. 
a. Neck tufts pointed. Size large. 
a! . Scapulars without conspicuous white ) prairie hen. 
terminal spot. Neck tufts very long. ) T. americanus. 



204 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

b' Scapulars with conspicuous white ter- ) heath hen. 
minal spot, neck tufts short. ) T. cupido. 

b. Neck tufts rounded or almost square. 
Size small. 

LESSER PRAIRIE 

a'. Without band of cinnamon rufous at I hen. 



1 



base of neck. T. pallidi 



b'. With band of cinnamon rufous at base 
of neck. 



cinctus. 

attwater's 

prairie hen. 

T. a. attwateri. 



GENUS PEDICECETES 
(Greek, irediov, pedion, a plain; + ote^rijs, oiketes, an inhabitant). 

Pedioecetes, Baird. B. North Am., 1868, p. 625. Type, Tetrao 
phasianelhis. Linn. 

No tufts of feathers above air sacs. Head slightly crested. 
Tarsi and base of toes feathered, the feathers in one species 
covering the latter, reaching in hairlike webs to the claws. Toes 
scutellated transversely above, fringed on sides with horny 
comb-like processes. Tail of eighteen feathers, soft, pointed, 
with the median pair longest and rather square at tip. Size 
large, sexes similar. 

One species and two subspecies comprise this genus of the 
Sharp-tailed Grouse. Terrestrial in their habits, yet not averse 
to perching on branches of trees and other convenient supports 
like their allies, the Prairie Hens. They are more shy in their 
dispositions than the members of the genus Tympanuchus, and 
are not so fond of loitering about the farm buildings, but prefer 
wild districts and man's absence. They go in small coveys for 
the greater part of the year, but like other prairie dwellers, con- 
gregate in immense packs, in the autumn. They are fine birds, 
with many game qualities, and are found in the more central 
portions of North America from the Arctic Sea to New Mexico. 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Median tail feathers extending beyond the 
rest. 

> SHARP-TAILED 

a. General plumage mostly black and white. L _ , , 

F 5 y [ P.phasianel- 

J /us. 



SUBFAMILY TETRAONINjE. 205 



a'. Ground color of upper parts grayish 
clay color, with but little of a rusty 
tinge. 



b. General plumage lighter, pale brown 
predominating. 

COLUMBIAN 

SHARP-TAILED 

GROUSE. 

P. p. columbi- 
anus. 

n PRAIRIE SHARP- 

b '. Ground color of upper parts rusty or I tailed grouse. 
ochraceous. [ P. p. cam- 

) pestris. 

GENUS CENTROCERCUS 

(Greek Kevrpov, kentron, a spine; + Kepxos, kerkos, tail). 

Centrocercus, Swain. Faun. Bor. Amer., 1831, pp. 358, 496. 
Type, Tetrao urophasianus, Bonp. 

No crest. Enormous air sacs present of irregular contour, 
fringed above by hairlike filaments, below covered with horny 
white feathers like scales, varying with the seasons according to 
the wear of the feathers. Tail very long, composed of twenty stiff, 
narrow, graduated acuminate feathers. Bill large and strong. 
Tarsi feathered to the toes. Sexes similar in plumage, but of 
greatly disproportionate size; the female being very much the 
smaller. 

But one species is contained in this genus, the remarkable 
Sage Cock, or Cock-of-the-Plains, with the exception of the 
Capercailzie of the Old World, the largest species of the sub- 
family, indeed almost equaling in bulk that giant of the Grouse 
Tribe. It inhabits the sage plains of the West, subsisting mainly 
upon the leaves of that plant, which give to the flesh an exceed- 
ingly bitter taste. It is exclusively a terrestrial species, and it 
has a vigorous, well-sustained flight, consisting of several rapid 
beats of the pinions, succeeded by sailings with the wings held 
stiff and motionless. It is an unique species, and has no par- 
ticularly near relative. It goes in flocks, and at times exhibits 
no fear of man. 

GENUS LA GO PUS 
(Greek \ayoirovs, lag opus, hare foot). 

Lagopus, Briss. Ornith., vol. i., 1760, p. 181. Type, Tetrao 
lagopus, Linn. 

Tarsi and toes densely feathered. Tail rather short, slightly 



206 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

rounded, consisting of fourteen feathers, but counting the two 
long upper median coverts, sixteen. Sexes dissimilar, both 
turning white in winter. 

Ptarmigan dwell in high latitudes, and are found in the Arctic 
regions of both hemispheres, one species, L. lagopus, being an 
inhabitant of both the Old and New Worlds. They are recog- 
nizable from other grouse by having the toes as well as the legs 
covered with feathers, sometimes the claws even being hidden. 
Also, all the species save one {Lagopus scoticus), turn white in 
winter, and the difference between that and the summer dress is 
so great, and the latter is retained for so brief a period, that the 
plumage appears to be always in a transient state, and the birds 
are robed for the greater portion of the year in a piebald dress. 
There are recognized at present four species and six subspecies 
inhabiting North America, and several other distinct species which 
are natives of the Old World. While possessing characteristic 
traits, which render them easily recognizable from each other, 
when the specimens are before the observer, there is, nevertheless, 
such a uniformity of color and markings among a number of the 
species and their races, that it is no easy matter to indicate the 
difference so as to clearly define them to the comprehension of any- 
one who has not seen the specimens. Therefore the accompany- 
ing key, while it gives the most marked differences observable, 
may fail to be of equal assistance to those entirely unfamiliar with 
Ptarmigan as are the keys for the other species of gallinaceous 
game birds. 

KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Tail always black. . 

a. No black loral space in male. 

\ WILLOW PTAR- 

a'. Shafts of secondaries, white. > migan. 

) L. lagopus. 

S Allen's ptar- 
migan. 
L. I. alleni, 

b. Black loral space in male. 

a'. Male in summer with black blotches ^| 
on back and scapulars, vermiculations I rock ptar- 
coarse. Ground color grayish brown. V migan. 

Female, bright ochraceous, spotted and L. rupestris. 
barred with black. 

* See remarks in article on this bird, page 149. 



SUBFAMILY TETRAONIN^. 



207 



b '. Male in summer, above less coarsely 
barred. Female chiefly black, varied 
with grayish buff. 

c '. Male in summer, brownish gray above, 
vermiculated and spotted with black. 
Female black, deep buff, and grayish 
white. 

d '. Male in summer, dark russet above, 
finely vermiculated with black with oc- 
casional black blotches. 

e'. Male in summer, above tawny ochrace- 
ous, russet, and gray, finely vermicu- 
lated and dotted with black. 

/'. Male in summer, raw-umber, above 
tinged with russet, and finely vermicu- 
lated and blotched with black. 

g' . Male in summer, chiefly black and 
white, vermiculated with tawny. 

B. Tail always white. 



reinhardt's 
ptarmigan. 
L. r. rein- 
■> hardti. 

I Welch's ptar- 

r MIGAN. 

J L. r. welchi. 

nelson's ptar- 
migan. 

L. r. nelsoni. 

turner's ptar- 
migan. 

L. r. atkensis. 
townsend's 
ptarmigan. 

L.r. townsendi. 
evermann's 
ptarmigan. 

L. evermanni. 

WHITE-TAILED 
PTARMIGAN. 

L. leucurus. 



FAMILY PHASIANIM;. 

This is one of the largest, and, regarded as a source 
of food supply to man, the most important family of 
birds. It contains between eighty and ninety species, 
with the exception of our Wild Turkeys all natives of the 
Old World, and among its members are found some of 
the most gorgeously plumaged creatures known in the 
class of birds. Some of these which might be men- 
tioned are the species of Lophophorus from India and 
Asia, resplendent with metallic hues of gold and fiery red, 
changing to blues and greens of varying intensity; the 
ocellated spurred fowl of the genus Polyplectrum, 
with wings and tail covered with oblong disks like great 
eyes, of metallic blues, purples, and greens; of the various 
graceful and highly-colored members of the genus Pha- 
sianus, and many others, constituting an assemblage 
of remarkable species difficult to rival. In North 
America the family is only represented by the common 
Wild Turkey and its three races, and its beautiful relative 
the Ocellated Turkey of Central America; but although 
few in number, yet considering what they have done for 
man's comfort and welfare, and as the source from which 
has been derived the domesticated race introduced into 
many lands, our magnificent birds may be considered 
with perfect propriety the most important members of 
the Phasianidae throughout the World. 



208 



SUBFAMILY MELEAGRIN^. 

This division of the great family of the Phasianidae 
includes only the Wild Turkeys of the New World. By 
some ornithologists these birds are deemed worthy of be- 
ing considered a distinct family — Meleagridae, but it does 
not appear that any particular advantage is gained by so 
elevating them, or that these birds are any more entitled 
to such a rank than many other species of Phasianidse 
which have always been enrolled in subfamilies. The 
Turkeys are no more characteristic and distinctive than 
are the Pea-fowl, Tragopans, Crossoptilons, and many 
others that might be mentioned, and are naturally a por- 
tion of the one great family, containing the spurred, 
beautifully plumaged fowl comprising the Phasianidae. 
The Turkeys are of course very distinct from Partridges 
and Grouse, and are properly placed in a different family, 
their many and peculiar characters separating them 
widely from the members of Tetraoninae, with which in- 
deed, beside a dress of feathers, they have little in com- 
mon. Beside the two North American species and the 
two races, only one other species is known, the wonder- 
fully plumaged Ocellated Turkey of certain portions of 
Central America, which in its gorgeous metallic hues is 
not surpassed in brilliancy by any other known bird. 

As game birds in the highest sense, affording sport 
in the field, as well as food to countless people, the 
Turkeys are among the most important members to the 
human race of the feathered tribes. 



210 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 

For over one hundred years the specific name of gal- 
lopavo, Linn, has been applied to the common Wild Tur- 
key of North America (the Meleagris syhestris nova 
anglice, of Ray, Av. 51); and by that name, even among 
non-scientific persons, it is pretty generally known. 
The fact as to what particular bird Linnaeus had before 
him, and which became his type when he wrote the de- 
scription in the Systema Naturae, — whether one of the 
domesticated race descended from the Mexican Turkey, 
or an example of the common North American species, — 
cannot now be established with any degree of certainty, 
and whatever change is made in the nomenclature of the 
Wild Turkeys can have no solid foundation to rest upon. 
But in regard to this point, a spirit of unrest is abroad, 
and a new shuffle of the synonomy is attempted, and 
among some ornithologists our northern bird is called 
americana, a name without a description, given by Bar- 
tram (Travels, 1791, p. 290), and by others syhestris 
(Viell. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., 1817, vol. ix. p. 447), a 
name taken from Ray, /. c, while the long employed and 
familiar term of gallopavo is made to do service for the 
White-rumped Mexican bird. It is of little consequence 
by what name a species is called, provided it is one 
accepted generally by ornithologists; and a change 
should not be made unless it can be conclusively proved 
that the name in use has been incorrectly adopted. It 
is not apparent that in this instance it can be proved that 
this has been the case, and the question then becomes 
one of individual opinion when a change is agitated. 

In a popular work, such as this book pretends to be, 
the principal effort should be to furnish its readers with 
the latest information on the subject of which it treats, 
and to give the reasons, when possible, why any changes 
are made, especially in the cases of long-accepted and 



SUBFAMILY MELEAGRINJE. 211 

well-known terms. The author may or may not be in 
sympathy with the attempted innovations, and, as in the 
present case, may find it as impossible to prove them 
erroneous as do its advocates to establish their correct- 
ness, but as his chief object is to portray the species con- 
tained in this volume, so that they may be recognized 
by his readers when met with elsewhere, and also be 
possessed of the same names, he has followed this new 
departure, even though it may not be permanent. 

If a change must be made from long-established and 
harmonious custom, there is no question as to which 
names the species of Turkeys must bear, according to 
the A. O. U. code. 

The common Wild Turkey must take the name of 
sylvestris, Viell., and not of americana, Bartram, which 
is a nomen nudum, and the Mexican Turkey must be 
known hereafter as gallopavo, Linn., although that natu- 
ralist may never have seen the bird. 

Under the guise, therefore, of these new appellations 
according to the very latest ideas, the Turkeys have been 
arranged in the following key: 

GENUS MELEAGRIS 
(Greek, fieXeaypis, meleagris, a guinea fowl). 

Meleagris, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed., io, vol. i., 1758, p. 156. Type, 
M. gallopavo, Linn. 

Head and upper part of neck, bare, carunculated, the male 
with a dewlap considerably developed and an erectile process 
at base of bill. Tarsus scutellated broadly before and behind, 
armed with a spur in the male. Plumage compact, metallic, the 
North American species with a tuft of hairlike feathers depend- 
ing from the breast. 

One species and three subspecies inhabit North America. One 
of the subspecies, M. s. ellioti, on account of the conspicuously 
different markings of the female, quite unlike any other known 



212 



GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 



form of turkeys, might properly be assigned a full specific rank. 
These noble birds are too well known to make it necessary to go 
into any details regarding them, beyond the accounts given in 
the various articles in the body of this book. From the Mexican 
and not from the North American bird came our stock of 
domestic Turkeys, and nearly all the latter exhibit in their light 
rumps and xipper tail-coverts the proof of their descent. The 
so-called Bronze Turkey of the farm-yard has, however, a large 
percentage of the blood of the wild Northern bird in his veins. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 

A. Tail tipped with deep rusty, upper tail- 
coverts tipped with chestnut. 



a. Bars on primaries reaching the shafts. 

b. Bars on primaries not reaching the 
shafts. 



B. Tail and upper coverts tipped with och- 
raceous buff. 



WILD TURKEY. 

M. sylvestris. 

FLORIDA WILD 
TURKEY. 

M. s. osceola. 
elliot's rio 

GRANDE 
TURKEY. 

M. s. ellioti. 



C. Tail and upper coverts tipped with white. 



MEXICAN WILD 
TURKEY. 

M. gallopavo. 



INDEX. 



Adak Island, 163 

Agattu Island, 151 

Akun Island, 159 

Akutan Island, 159 

Alaska, 88, 89, 90, 94, 95, 106, 

108, 126, 151, 153, 167 
Alaska, Northwestern, 100 
Alaskan Coast, 151 
Aleutian Chain, 156, 159, 161, 

163, 165 
Aleutian Islands, 158 
Amchitka Island, 161 
America, 38, 142 
American Museum of Natural 

History, 107 
Anderson River, 123, 151 
Anthony, A. W., 47, 48, 59 
Arctic America, 153 
" Ocean, 142 
" Regions, 104, 124, 147, 

151, 206 
Arctic Sea, 199, 204 
Argus Mountain, 44, 46 
Arizona, Southern, 39, 49, 52 
" Territory of, 20, 38, 49, 

62, 67, 69, 72, 89, 93, 182, 185 
Artemisia, 136 
Asia, 208 

Assiniboia, 136, 141 
Astoria, 41 
Atka Island, 161 
Attu Island, 161, 165 



Bad Lands, 132 
Baird, S. F., 150 
Barboquivari Range, 38 
Barren Grounds, 151 
Behring Sea, 151 

Straits, 88 
Belt Range, 106 
Bendire, Capt. C, 42, 44, 47, 

58, 59, 67 
Bishop, Mr., 102 
Bob White, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 
27, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 
41, 67, 77, no, 192, 194, 195 
Bob White, Florida, 32 

Masked, 38, 194 
Texan, 35, 36, 194 
Bob Whites, 193 
Boise City, 20 
" River, 20 
Bonasa, 200 

" umbellus, 80, 87, 201 
" umbellus sabini, 83, 201 
' ' umbellus togata, 8 7 , 201 
" umbellus timbelloides, 
88, 201 
Brazos River, 180, 181 
Brewster, William, 118 
British America, 123, 125, 171 
Columbia, 57, 81, 84, 88, 
106, 108, 126, 136, 141, 167 
British Columbia, Northern, 83, 
87 



214 



INDEX. 



British North America, 98, 

99 
British Possessions, 100 

" Provinces, 74, 147 
Brown, Herbert, 38 

California, 20, 30, 41, 42, 44, 
46, 55, 60, 67, 81, 83, 90, 94, 
95, 126, 136, 141 
California Coast Region, 57 
" Lower, 44, 47, 48, 58 

Southern, 44 
Callipepla, 193, 195, 197 

" squamata, 52, 196 

squamata castanei- 
gastra, 54, 196 
Cambridge, 118 
Canachites, 200, 202 

" canadensis, 104, 

202, 203 
Canachites franklini, 108, 202, 

203 
Canada, 84, 142, .167, 172 
" Dominion of, 84, 87 
" Southern, 80 
Cape St. Lucas, 55, 57, 68 
Capercailzie, 136, 198 
Cascade Mountains, 170 
" Range, 84, 167 
Central America, 208, 209 
Centrocercus, 200, 205 

urophasianus,i4i 
Chilcat Peninsula, 142 
Coast Range, 41, 81, 83, 94, 97, 

106 
Cock of the Plains, 90, 136, 200, 

205 
Cock of the Woods, 136 
Colinus ridgwayi, 39, 194 
" strenua, 188 
" virginianus, 30, 34, 194 



Colinus virginianus floridanus, 

33, 194 
Colinus virginianus texanus,36, 

187 
Colorado, 20, 88, 90, 129, 134, 

141, 167, 170 
Colorado Desert, 62 

11 River, 49 
Columbia, 41 
Connecticut, 117 
Coues, Dr. Elliott, 67 
Crossoptilons, 209 
Cumberland Gulf, 154 
Crytonyx, 193, 197 

" montezuma, 72 

Dakota, iio 

" South, 19, 30 
" Southwestern, 90, 93 
Western, 88 
Dakotas, The, 74, 8o, 115, 132, 

136, 141 
Death Valley, 58 
Dendragapus, 200, 201 

" obscurus, 93, 97, 

98, 99, 202 
Dendragapus obscurus fuligi- 

nosus, 97, 202 
Dendragapus obscurus richard- 
soni, 99, 202 

Eastern Hemisphere, 186, 192, 

199, 201 
England, 184 
Europe, 184 
Evermann, Professor, 165 

Fannin County, Texas, 49 
Fisher, Dr., 44 

Florida, 19, 30, 32, 33, 34, 172, 
176, 179 



INDEX. 



"5 



Forest and Stream, 102 
Fort Brown, 120 

" Chimo, 150 

" Simpson, 124 

" Union, 62 

•* Whipple, 69 
France, 184 
Franklin Bay, 151 

Georgia, 74 

" Northern, 80 
Great Salt Lake, Valley of the, 

20 
Great Slave Lake, 123 
Greenland, 151, 153, 154 
Grouse, 74, 77, 79, 82, 84, 85, 
86, 88, 89, 94, 98, 100, 104, 123, 
126, 127, 128, 130, 189, 191, 199, 
209 
Grouse, Blue, 89, 90 

Canada, 100, 101, 106, 
108, 202, 203 
Grouse, Canadian, 85, 201 

" Canadian Ruffed, 74, 
84, 194 
Grouse, Columbian Short- 
tailed, 124, 126, 131, 205 
Grouse, Dusky, 90, 91, 94, 97, 99, 

103, 200, 202 
Grouse, Fool, 92 

Franklin's, 106, 107, 
108, 202, 203 
Grouse, Gray, 90 
" Oregon, 81 
" Pine, 90 

" Pinnated, 115, 117, 
118, 120, 127, 128, 129, 134, 
140 
Grouse, Pintail, 126 
" Prairie, 192 
" Richardson's, 98, 202 



Grouse, Ruffed, 74, 77, 79, 81, 

82, 84, 88, 103, 199, 200, 201 
Grouse, Ruffed Gray, 88, 201 

Sage, 136, 137, 139, 140 

" Sabine's, 81, 82, 201 

" Sharp-tailed, 123, 124, 

128, 129, 134, 136, 140, 200, 204 

Grouse, Sharp-tailed Prairie, 

126, 129, 132, 205 
Grouse, Spike-tail, 126 

" Spruce, 199, 200, 202 
Sooty, 94, 98, 157, 202 
Willow, 142, 149, 150, 
151, 152, 154, 155, 157, 161, 167 
Gila Monster, 65 

" River, 72 
Gilroy, 20 
Guadalajara, 36 
Gulf States, 172, 176 

Hawks, 79 

Heath Hen, 11 1, 117, 204 
Hempstead Plains, 117 
Hen, Fool, 92 
Huachuca Mountains, 38 
Hudson Bay, 123, 124, 151 

Strait, 164 
Humbert River, 150 

Idaho, 20, 30, 84, 88, 98, 167 
Northern, 87, 106 
" Southeastern, 99 

Southern, 80, 90, 93 
" Western, 97 
Illinois, 129, 134 
India, 208 
Indiana, no 
Indian Territory, 19, 115, 120, 

172 
Inyo County, California, 44 
Iowa, no 



2l6 



INDEX. 



Kadiak Island, ioo, 104 
Kansas, 19, no, 115, 120 

" Southwestern, 120 
Kentucky, no 
Kentville, 103 
Klamath Valley, 58 
Kyska Island, 163 

Labrador, Northern, 154 

" Southern, 151, 153, 

154 
Lagopus, 200, 205 

" evermanni, 165, 207 
" lagopus, 147, 150, 206 
" lagopus alleni, 206 
" leucurus, 171, 207 
" rupestris, 153, 206 

rupestris atkensis, 

161, 207 

Lagopus, rupestris nelsoni, 207 

" rupestris reinhardi, 

200, 207 

Lagopus rupestris townsendi, 

161, 163. 207 
Lagopus rupestris welchi, 157, 

207 
Lagopus Scoticus, 206 
Lake Superior, 124 
Liard River, 99, 171 
Lockhart River, 123 
Long Island, 117, 119 
Lophophorus, 208 
Lophortyx, 192, 193, 196 

" californicus, 57, 60, 

197 
Lophortyx californicus vallic- 

ola, 60, 197 
Lophortyx gambeli, 67, 197 
Louisiana, 19, no, 115, 122 

MacFarlane, Mr., 123 



MacFarlane River, 151 
Maine, 19, 30, 84, 104, 172 
Manitoba, no, 115 
Martha's Vineyard, in, 117, 

119, 129, 203 
Massachusetts, 74, 80, 117, 119 
Meleagridae, 209 
Meleagrinae, 183, 209 
Meleagris, 211 

gallopavo, 185, 2ii, 
212 
Meleagris sylvestris, 176, 179, 

181, 212 
Meleagris sylvestris ellioti, 

181, 211, 212 
Meleagris sylvestris novae-an- 

gliae, 210 
Meleagris sjdvestris oceola, 

179, 212 
Mexico, 36, 38, 39, 180, 182, 184, 

199 
Mexico, Eastern, 53, 180, 181 
" Northern, 49 
" Northeastern, 54, 181 
" Northwestern, 62, 67, 
69 
Mexico, Table-land of, 72 

" Valley of, 50 
Minnesota, State of, 74, 104 
Michigan, State of, 74, 115, 172, 
Mississippi, State of, 80, 172 
" River, 19, 30 

" Valley of the, no, 

115 
Missouri, 19, 30, no 
Mogallon Mountains, 49 
Mojave River, 58 
Montana, 88, 98, 106, 126, 128, 

129, 134, 167 
Montana, Northwest, 108 
Monterey, 57 



INDEX. 



217 



Montezuma, 185 
Mount Kearsage, 44 
" Magruder, 46 

Nebraska, 141 

Nevada, State of, 46, 58, 60, 67, 

90, 97, 126, 141 
New Caledonia, 84, 87 

" England, 22, 87, 104, 147 
Newfoundland, 147, 149, 150, 157 
New Hampshire, State of, 19 
New Jersey, State of, 117, 119 
Mexico, Territory of, 19, 

30, 49, 52, 62, 67, 69, 70, 72, 

89, 90, 93, 129, 134, 136, 141, 

167, 171, 182, 204 
New Mexico, Northern, 62 

World, 142, 184, 185, 191, 

199, 206, 209 
New York, Northern, 87 

" State of, 19, 104, 

142, 150 
North America, 151, 160, 191, 

192, 199, 202, 203, 204, 206, 

208, 209, 210, 211, 212 
Norton Sound, 88 
Nova Scotia, 103 
Nuevo Leon, 36 

Odontophorin^, 191, 192 
Ohio, State of, 74, 115, 172 
Old World, 191, 205, 208 
Ontario, 115, 172 

" Southern, 19, 30 
Oregon, 20, 30, 41, 42, 55, 57, 
58, 60, 84, 87, 106, 108, 128, 
136, 141 
Oregon, Eastern, 46 
Oreortyx, 193, 194 

picta, 194 
pictus, 42, 46, 195 



Oreortyx, pictus confinis, 48, 195 
pictus plumif erus, 46, 
195 
Ortyx, massena, 197 
" montezuma, 197 
squamatus, 195 
Owls, 79, 82 

Pacific, 30, 81, 126 

" Coast, 42, 81, 100, 106, 
142 
Panamint Mountains, 46, 60 
Partridge, 19, 69, 71, 74 

" American, 191, 192, 
209 
Partridge, California, 55, 56, 59, 

62, 71, 196, 197 
Partridge, Chestnut-bellied, 

Scaled, 53, 196 
Partridge, Birch, 74 

Black, 69, 100 
" Black-bellied, 69 

" Blue, 49, 52, 71, 196 

" Gambel's, 51, 55, 58, 

62, 64, 66, 70, 71, 195, 196, 197 
Partridge, Massena, 69, 70, 71, 

193 
Partridge, Mountain, 41, 44, 45, 

157, 195 
Partridge, Plumed, 44, 45, 195 
San Pedro, 47, 195 
Scaled, 49, 50, 52, 53, 
195, 196 
Partridge, Spruce, 100, 101, 104, 

106, 107 
Partridge, Valley, 58, 107 

White Top-knot, 49 
Partridges, 189, 201 

Helmeted, 193 
" North American, 

192 



218 



INDEX. 



Partridges, Plumed, 193 

" Scaled, 193, 197 
Pea-fowl, 209 
Pedioecetes, 200, 204 

" phasianellus, 124, 

204 
Pedioecetes phasianellus cam- 

pestris, 134, 205 
Pedioecetes phasianellus co- 

lumbianus, 128, 205 
Pennsylvania, Eastern, 119 

State of, 117,172, 

176 
Perdicinse, 191 
Phasianidse, 183, 208, 209 
Phasianus, 208 
Pheasant, 74 
Pine Hen, 89, 90 
Plomoso, 38 
Polyplectrum, 208 
Prairie Chicken, no, in, 114, 

115, 126, 127, 129 
Prairie Chicken, The Northern, 

120 
Prairie Hen, no, 114, 203 

" Attwater's,i22,204 

" " Lesser, 120, 204 

Prairie Hens, 202, 203, 204 
Ptarmigan, 183, 184, 200 
" Allen's, 149, 206 

" Evermann's, 165, 

207 
Ptarmigan, Nelson's, 159, 

207 
Ptarmigan, Newfoundland, 157 
" Reinhardt's, 154, 

207 
Ptarmigan, Rock, 151, 155, 161, 

206 
Ptarmigan, Townsend's, 163, 

207 



Ptarmigan, Turner's, 161, 207 
Welch's, 157, 207 
Willow, 151, 152, 
206 
Ptarmigan, white-tailed, 167, 

207 
Puget Sound, 20, 55 

Quail, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 33, 

35, 36, 62, 63 
Quail, Black, 69 

Black-bellied, 69 

Cactus, 49 

Crested, 50 

Florida, 33, 34 

Fool, 69, 70, 198 

Gambel's, 39, 62 

Masked, 38 

Mountain, 169 

Snow, 169 

Texan, 37, 40 

Valley, 58, 62 

White, 169 

White-crested, 49 

White Topknot, 49 
Quails, 191 
Quickiock Falls, 153 

Ridgway, R., 73 

Rio Grande, Foothills of the, 

53 
Rio Grande, Lower Valley of 

the, 54 
Rio Grande, Valley of the, 35, 

53. 69 
Rocky Mountains, 93, 94, 98, 

99, 100, 104, 108, 123, 126, 134 
Rocky Mountain Region, 88 
Rocky Mountains, Eastern, 128 

Sage Cock, 137, 199, 205 



INDEX. 



219 



Sage Hen, 138 

San Antonio, 69, 120 

San Bernardino County, Cali- 
fornia, 62, 67 

San Francisco, 41, 42, 46 

San Pedro Mountains, 47, 48 

Seattle, 41 

Sennett, G. B, 53, 180 

Sierra Nevada Mountains, 44, 
46. 58, 94 

Silver City, 72 

Sitka, 90, 142, 147 

Snake River, 20 

Sonora, 38, 39 

Sonoita Creek, 38 
Valley, 38 

St. Augustine, 177 

St. John's River, 177 

St. Lawrence, Gulf of, 153 

Staked Plains, 35 

Tamaulipas, 36 

Taos, 69, 167 

Tetrao californicus, 196 

" canadensis, 202 

14 cupido, 203 

44 lagopus, 205 

" obscurus, 201 

phasianellus, 204 

44 umbellus, 200 

14 urophasianus, 205 

44 virginianus, 193 
Tetraonidse, 191, 192 
Tetraoninae, 150, 189, 199, 

209 
Texas, 19, 35, 49, 53, 54, no, 

115, 120, 122, 172, 176 
Texas, Eastern, 30 

44 Gulf Coast of, 122 

44 Western, 36, 49, 52, 62, 
67, 69, 72, 120, 182, 185 



Townsend, Mr., 163 
Tragopans, 209 
Tucson, 38 
Turkey, Bronze, 212 

44 Eastern wild, 181 
" Elliot's Rio Grande, 
180, 212 
Turkey, Florida wild, 177, 178, 

212 
Turkey, Mexican, 182, 185, 210, 

211, 212 
Turkey, Northern Wild, 179 
44 ocellated, 208, 209 
44 wild, 172, 173, 175, 176, 
180, 182, 208, 212 
Turkeys, wild, 183, 208, 209, 210 
Turner, L. M., 154 
Tympanuchus, 200, 203, 204 

44 americanus, 115, 

119, 203 
Tympanuchus, attwateri, 122, 

204 
Tympanuchus, cupido, 119, 204 
" pallidicinctus, 

120, 122, 204 

United States, 19, 38, 49, 51, 
69, 87, 90, 106, in, 123, 124, 
167, 172 

United States, Eastern, 19, 30, 
80, 85, 88, 180 

United States, Middle, 19, in, 

117 

United States, Northern, 19, 

33. 39. 180 
United States, Northwestern, 

126 
United States, Southern, 22, 

36, 74, 180, 181, 191 
United States, Western, 19, 

101, 117, 162, 166, 167, 171 



INDEX. 



Utah, 20, 30, 58, go, 141 
" Southeastern, 62, 67 

Valladores, 47 
Vancouver Island, 42, 81 
Vermont, State of, 19 
Virginia, State of, 20, 74, 119 

Washington, State of, 30, 41, 
42, 55, 57, 84, 87, 106, 108, 
126, 128, 136, 141 

Western Hemisphere, 191, 
192 

West Indies Islands, 184 



White-belly, 132 
White Mountains, 49 
Willamette Valley, 41, 58 
Wilmot Horton River, 151 
Wisconsin, State of, 74, 

134, 172, 176 
Wyoming, Northern, 99 

State of, 90, 98, 

128, 167 

Yukon River, 89 

Valley of the, 88 

Zerega, L. A., 150 



129, 



[26, 






COLOR CHART 



The Chart at the end of this volume will greatly 
assist readers to identify the various colors men- 
tioned in this work. 



UNIFORM WITH GAME BIRDS 

IElIIIIIlllIIIIIlllll111111IIlfJlllllltltIIlItIIllllIltllllIlltllItIIIIIIlJIIIIl»IIIlJIII]lItiiflL^*lltIII>*HIIIIIlI1llIItl11IIIIIItllllliIUIIlllI'llIlIITII-ltlllIIIlI11ltllJllllIlIlllllIIIIIlllllItl[iriIIIi 

■R T .1 I A POPULAR history of 

INOrtfl 1 f\ the Snipes, Sandpi- 

American 
Shore Birds 



pers, Plovers, etc., inhab- 
iting the beaches and 
marshes of the Atlantic and 
Pacific Coasts, the Prairies, 
and shores of the inland 
2d Edition I Lakes and Rivers of the 



By 



| North American Continent. 

j With 74 fine full-page 

Prof. Daniel [ plates specially drawn for 

Giraud Elliot | this work by Mr. Edwin 

, , „,. „■■ uM.Munminl W- Sheppard. 



Crown Octavo, Ornamental Cloth, - - - $2.50 

Large Paper Edition, Limited to 100 Copies Signed by the Author, 

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17 EAST 16th ST. NEW YORK 






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